short story: Lucifer

I won the 2013 Independence celebrations' short story competition (2nd year in a row)... this is my 2013 submission:

Lucifer

by Delroy Nesta Williams 

            “What is the capital of Jamaica?’ I thought to myself. I knew the answer; it was either Kingston or Kingstown. I always mixed up these two but it wasn’t the time to be unsure. I needed that answer to get an A on my final exam. I had already calculated my score in my head. My mother had promised me a trip to Roseau during the summer if I had gotten all A’s. I couldn’t wait to run along the city streets and go to the market with her. I had never been to Roseau, I heard a lot of things about it though; my mother would go there ever so often and always returned with lots of groceries and fine things.

I had imagined Roseau as a very big city, with very tall buildings, wide streets not like the wooden houses and dirt roads of Gros Michel, far from that too. There was no way the capital could be anything like my village. Besides with street names like King George V Street and Great George Street, I couldn’t help but think that Roseau was a majestic city full of business men driving their fancy cars, looking really important in their suits and ties. At least that’s what I read in books about the cities of Europe, I would expect the same of Roseau.

            “Daryl, Daryl... wat is de answer for 12 an 15 ner?” whispered someone behind me, disturbing my thoughts.

            “I doh know ner,” I responded without even turning around for fear that Teacher Roach would see me. She heard and saw everything; I was scared to death of that lady. She was so stern and meticulous, that nothing escaped her.

            “Tell me ner before Teacher come back in de class,”

            “No boy, I fraid,” I continued.

            “Boy jus say de ting quick before she come back, hurry ner!”

            “No boy, I cyah do that.”

            “Hear de man, boy I doh want to fail dat test ner, I doh want to repeat mamzelle class!”

At that very moment, a cold breeze filled the room, everything got quiet and even the mosquitoes that were buzzing around my arms and legs seemed to stand still. The hands on the old class clock, which only worked during exams, seemed to stop too.

            “Daryl and Dwight, what have I said about talking during tests?” Teacher Roach asked sternly.

I stayed quiet; I wasn’t going to utter a word, not me, never.

            “Daryl! Dwight! Who is going to answer me?” Teacher Roach scolded in her slow, deliberate speech that felt like she was actually counting the words before sounding them.

            “I cyah remember ner Teacher,” Dwight responded defiantly.

            “You cyah remember ner Teacher?” she said mockingly, “We will see who remembers when I take out Lucifer from the cupboard.”

Lucifer was a giant rod that was kept locked up in the class cupboard and only used for “special” occasions. I had overhead the other teachers referring to it as the rod of correction. Teacher Roach used it to perfection, scaring the life out of all its victims. I had only received two strokes from Lucifer before and I didn’t want anymore. I had trouble sitting down on my chair for weeks after that. Rumour had it that the rod was made from a carefully handcrafted guava branch that was soaked for months in oil to preserve it.

            “Who remembers what I have said about talking during tests?’ Teacher Roach asked the class.

            “Teacher, you say we shouldn’t talk with anybody or cheat,” responded Mary. I hated Mary, she was always quick to respond and yearned to be the teacher’s favourite. To say she annoyed me and the rest of the class was the biggest understatement.

            “And who can tell me what Daryl and Dwight were doing?”

            “Miss they were talking wii,” Mary responded again without any hesitation.

            “Is that against the rules?”

            “Yes Teacher,” the class responded in complete unison.

            “What do we do to students who break the rules?”

            “We show dem to Lucifer!” Tony, a boy in the back row shouted out.

            “How many strokes do you recommend Mary?”

            “Me, Teacher,” she quirked, “I would gi dem five each wii,” she continued with a huge grin.

            “Daryl, take the keys from the desk and take Lucifer from the cupboard.”

            “No Teacher, no,” I cried out, “is not my fault ner.”

            “So whose fault was it?”

At that point I looked over to Dwight and I could see the anger building up inside him. I was caught between a rock and a hard place, but I could always escape Dwight; Lucifer on the other hand was a sure thing.

            “So whose fault was it Daryl?” Teacher Roach asked again.

            “Teacher, Dwight dat ask me for answers to questions 12 an 15 wii,”

            “Dwight is that true?”

Dwight didn’t budge, he didn’t say a word but I could tell that if he could have killed me at that time that he would have done it so swiftly that not even the hand of God could have prevented my death. The vein in the middle of his forehead was about ready to pop open; the blood would have splashed all over the walls of the classroom. 

            “Daryl, get me the rod, now!”

            “Me, miss?” I asked.

            “Yes you Daryl, who else?”

            “Yes Miss,” I responded. It was already bad that I had ratted out Dwight but now I had to retrieve his method of punishment. I held unto the rod and could smell its odour. It was so pungent, almost a similar smell like that of rotting onions. The cane felt so strange between my fingers and so heavy but the way Teacher Roach swung it through air to dispense “judgment” would have made you think that it was a feather. She had some strong shoulders and arms for a woman.

As I returned to my seat I put my head on my desk. I had just sent Dwight to the slaughterhouse but the sad thing about it is that he would survive and come back for his revenge. Dwight didn’t utter a sound during his five strokes, soaking up the lashes like they were just a slap on the wrist; he was too busy thinking about paying me back for my treachery.

We still had two more exams to complete before the end of the day. I was sure he or his friends wouldn’t attack me before the bell had rung. I was quickly devising an escape strategy. I needed a plan since my house was on the other side of the village and I had to cross the guava field and pass directly in front of Dwight’s house before reaching Lime Street. I had the perfect idea, if only I could implement it.

The next few hours strolled along, almost causing me as much pain as I had envisioned receiving from Dwight. Every time I turned around I would see him staring at me with this painful but evil expression on his face, his eyes almost ready to pop out of his head. The vein running down the middle of his forehead was still bulging as well, although soaked by sweat because of the immense heat in the classroom. A slight touch would have caused it to rupture and spill out unto the blackboard at the front of the class.

I was a nervous mess; I couldn’t concentrate on my tests. I kept thinking of what happened before and how I would escape. I only had one good chance of getting away, but that would only succeed in delaying the inevitable. Dwight wasn’t someone who anybody should bring to anger, especially the way it happened in front of the entire class. He looked like he was ready to breathe fire any minute.

It was nearing 3:00 now, half an hour before we were officially dismissed and it was time that I make my move.

            “Teacher Roach, I doh feeling too good ner, my stomach hurting me wii!” I belched out.

            “What’s wrong with you Daryl?” Teacher asked.

            “I think de food I eat for lunch hurt me wii Teacher,”

            “What did you eat?”

            “Food from yesterday wii.”

            “You want to go to the Principal for medicine?”

            “Yes Teacher, yes!”

            “Anybody want to accompany Daryl to the principal’s office?” she asked.

            “Yesssssssssss!” shouted a voice from the back of the classroom. An almost deafening sound that made my knees tremble with fear, so much it was said with raging fury.

            “Dwight, go with Daryl,” she demanded, “stay with him until the Principal send you back to the classroom.”

Those words sunk my spirit. Teacher Roach had just dug my grave and she didn’t even realize it. I would haunt her for the rest of her life for what she did to me. Dwight stood up with a sly smile on his face almost too eager to help. He had seen through my trick.

            “You tink is you alone that smart eh,” he murmured under his breath. “I have it for you later enno.”

The next thirty (30) minutes were a blur, passing by so quickly; from entering the Principal’s office, getting sent to an empty room to wait out the time and having a teacher prepare bush tea for me. I couldn’t see or hear Dwight but I knew he was lingering around the school yard, just waiting on me to make my way home.

I had escaped, but for how long? The bell had rung now but I had decided to wait a while before leaving the room in the hope that I would fool Dwight and his friends who would surely be waiting for me. Maybe they would have thought that I had left already or that one of the teachers would have already taken me from the sickroom.

I waited for about fifteen (15) minutes before vacating the room, carefully opening the door so as to not arouse any suspicion or make any unnecessary noise that would inform any bystander or onlooker. The door creaked open just slightly before I squeezed my way through. I didn’t risk opening it up fully at all. I could take no chances. I had decided to leave my school bag behind so that I would have been able to run more freely. I turned the corner just after leaving the sickroom, the coast was clear. Not a student or teacher in sight as I continued tip-toeing through the school hall. I quickened my pace and what started off as timid steps soon became full blown strides. As I was about to jet through the school gate, it came swinging in my direction, knocking me across my arms as I had raised them to protect my face.

            “Iye, yah yiiiiiiiiiye,” I cried out.

            “Where you tink you going, you think you wudda escape easy so den?” I heard Dwight scream out.

            “Leave me alone boy,”

            “You doh think I would wait for you?”

            “I doh want no trouble,”

            “You doh think of that before you make Teacher Roach beat me in front de class?”

            “Is your fault wii,” I responded in a loud voice; growing in confidence as I stood up.

            “Well dat is your fault now,” Dwight said, now exposing Lucifer that he had kept at his back.

            “Where you get Lucifer?” I cried out.

            “So you think I doh know how to go in de cupboard?”

            “How much strokes I get?” he asked.

            “I doh know, I doh remember!”

            “Mickey, Larry, how much strokes I get?” he asked as his friends emerged from their hiding places. They grabbed my arms and held me steady as Dwight prepared to lash me with the cane.

            “Five you get wii Dwight!”    Larry sounded with a sly grin, wishing that he could be the one to whip me instead.

            “Is three of us eh, so three times five is how much?”

            “Fifteen wii, fifteen,” Mickey said although his tone sounded uncertain.

            “So fifteen strokes for you wii Daryl, I sorry but is fifteen you going to get eh,” Dwight said menacingly as I tried to wriggle my way from the hold of Mickey and Larry. They were just too strong for me. It was pointless. I would have to take all my fifteen lashes as I couldn’t see any way to escape from my predicament.

Larry and Mickey pulled me against the column that held the gate, each one stretching my arm in opposite direction as Dwight measured Lucifer. I closed my eyes hoping that it would make the situation go away, or at least I could concentrate on something else. The pungent oniony-smell of Lucifer filled my nostrils again and forced a tear from my eyes even before I felt one blow from the cane. I could hear the shuffling of Dwight’s feet as he prepared himself. Larry and Mickey pulled at my arms even harder and for a moment I thought about my mother, how she would still beat me if she ever found out what was going on in the school yard, doubling my pain and anguish. I would have to take my blows in silence and not tell a soul.

Dwight swung away as Lucifer whistled through the still afternoon air striking me on my buttocks as I cringed against the column, almost climbing it up from the shock of the stroke. I stuck my teeth together to prevent myself from screaming as the pain shot through my body, every nerve ending now awake. The second stroke, even more ferocious than the first tore through my pants and exposed my underwear bringing Larry, Mickey and Dwight to an uncontrollable laugh. After they had composed their selves, Dwight recommenced with his assault. I was counting every blow, hoping and wishing that fifteen would get there soon. He was on number four and I was wishing that somehow he would have miscounted to my benefit. He swung again, this time so hard that Lucifer dropped from his grip and rolled a few metres away.

I heard as he walked to retrieve the cane but I didn’t dare open my eyes. I didn’t want the pool of tears to escape from them and for Dwight to see me cry. I wouldn’t let them see me cry. Dwight was now making his way back towards me, kicking a few pebbles from under his feet in my direction. One of them hit my ankle too but that wasn’t as painful as anything that I had so far endured. I stuck my teeth together again and closed my eyes tightly preparing for another lash from Lucifer. Mickey and Larry again pulled at my arms; their grips still very tight as Dwight urged them on to pull at me. He was going to make me endure ever lingering moment, he was just so menacing. Again he shuffled his feet, preparing to strike me with Lucifer.

“Stop it, leave de person’s child alone,” a voice screamed from outside the gates and within seconds Dwight and his friends had vanished from around me. As I realized what had just happened, I too dashed outside the school gate, not even looking to see who rescued me from my captors. I hoped that the person hadn’t recognised me because the last thing I wanted was for my mother to receive the news of my beating at the hands of Dwight and company. That would have equalled double punishment.

When I had reached a safe distance, I stopped and turned around, still panting though. There was no one in sight, not Dwight or his friends and surely not the person who saved me from my turmoil.

“Thank God,” I thought, “thank God... but where was Lucifer?”

 THE END

The Escape... the complete story

The Escape

By

Delroy “Nesta” Williams

What a day it was, yesterday. Climbing Diablotin was a serious challenge and I was suddenly feeling the after-effects. I needed a massage, if only I had taken Cassandra’s advice. I just wasn’t in the mood for all that chit-chat and frankly, I was having second thoughts about this relationship. I understood that she needed me now more than ever but I couldn’t help but be a little bit perturbed by the situation I had found myself in with her. To say I didn’t see that one coming is the understatement of the century. What that had started off as a friendly, flirtatious conversation during the lunch hour was bourgeoning into an affair of wild proportions. And although I loved being with her, I wanted no part of the repercussions and something told me I should stay far away.

But her needy voice and the way she always made herself available to me was a little more than I could fight. She would show up in the staff room just before my class every morning, leaving me love notes; sending me messages on my phone all day long while I taught. I had to delete them all as soon as I read them. My girlfriend was such a detective that even the slightest text from a woman warranted an FBI-type interrogation. Shana was on vacation now, thank God, those three weeks in Antigua were my dream come true. Some peace and quiet for a change, but Shana being Shana, she had found a way to trouble my mind from across the Caribbean Sea. She called every day, sometimes six or seven times a day. She called my cell phone, the house phone, even the school phone just to keep tabs on me. That drove me crazy. She even had her evil sister spying on me, popping in at my home at odd hours with strange requests for sugar, butter and so forth. Her sister even adopted my car as her personal taxi getting me to drive her all over Roseau since she was afraid to get her own license. Talk about Driving Miss Daisy all over again.

With all that drama, the two of them were still clueless about Cassandra. Cassandra had always seemed the very happy type. She had been through a bitter divorce with her husband Greg and won a huge sum. Greg was a cheater and Cassandra’s damning evidence meant that she walked away from the divorce proceedings with the house, car, alimony and child support. Cassandra had a ten year old daughter, Michelle, a very beautiful child who was wise beyond her years. Well at least that’s what Cassandra said, I had to stay clear of Michelle for our sake. It had been more than five years since the divorce and Cassandra had moved on and was now dating Xavier. Xavier was a banker at the National Bank of Dominica, one of their chief executives and I think he valued his work a little too much for Cassandra’s taste. She had mentioned how she felt like he only paraded her around to his friends and colleagues at staff parties and other formal activities but he was absent-minded during the rest of their relationship. His misstep was beginning to clear the path that I would walk in.

I had been secretly seeing Cassandra for a few weeks now but the guilt of the situation only bothered me now that Shana was actually overseas. Strange but true, the cheating never concerned me when Shana was lying in the same bed with me. I guess it was because at that time she wasn’t calling on me every other minute to find out where I was, who I was with or what I was doing. She actually called my cell phone one time when I was right in the middle of caressing Cassandra’s breast between my palms. That killed my mood right then and there much to the dissatisfaction of Cassandra. It was like Shana was hovering over me at the time, I could almost hear her judgmental tone, like she knew everything I was doing and had just caught me in the act. I struggled to swallow the lump stuck in the back of my throat to lie to her. I was hoping in time that the lying would have gotten easier but it didn’t. I wasn’t a natural cheater; actually this was the first time that I had cheated on Shana although she had accused me on many an occasion. She even thought I fucked all those young girls in my class at the Wesley High School.

So there I was laid back on my bed, suffering from slight leg pains and cramps from my little adventure of the day before and dying because I had no way of contacting Cassandra. It was now May Day, a holiday in Dominica and this meant that everywhere was closed, including the Glam, where I got my weekly massages. I had foreseen this and made other arrangements with Cassandra for a full body, nude massage encounter but then the unforeseen occurred. My blackberry phone fell into a huge puddle of mud while trekking up the 4747 ft. tall mountain and it refused to work after that. That phone was my life; it had all my contact information in it. I had paid no attention to remembering Cassandra’s phone numbers or anything like that; the blackberry was always my little black book of secrets.

So here I was in desperate need of a massage but with no way of contacting my friend. What would I do? I could hardly even move. Cassandra would never call my home phone; I had given her specific instruction never to do so. We had created a list of do’s and don’ts and tried our utmost best to respect those lines so that our secret rendez-vous would remain a clandestine activity with little or no risk, whatsoever.

Oh but wait, I could get in my car and just take a casual drive up to Castle Comfort, there would be no harm in that if I just pass in front of her house, just to see if Xavier was home or not. I hoped she would be there all alone, working in the front yard. I jumped as fast as I could manage, out of the bed. It was almost mid day and I was still in my boxer shorts and vests. Hiking had made me so lazy and tired. A quick drop of mouthwash and water unto my face and I was out of the house. I looked miserable but if Cassandra couldn’t accept me at my worst, she didn’t deserve me at my best. I had a single-tracked mind at that time, I just wanted to get to Castle Comfort and get her attention, explain to her why I hadn’t been in contact like we had planned. Knowing her, she was probably cooking up some dubious reasoning in the back of her mind, she was always the one to extend the possibilities and think of some very strange things.

It took me a little of five minutes to drive from Mahaut to Castle Comfort, thanks to Edward O. Leblanc highway’s new road surface granted to Dominica by the Chinese Government. Oh what a joy to speed across the tarmac with no potholes or unusual bumps. I was driving and getting dressed at the same time, a possible hazard but the streets were empty. I guess everybody had already made their way to the beach.

Castle Comfort on the other hand was a different story; the place had always been an enigma to me; how could a place with such huge, exquisite houses have such poor roads?

I parked a few lanes down from Cassandra’s house, making my way through a track that she had shown me, always looking around for the idle onlooker but still striding through with a confidence like I had owned the place. If you look like you know what you’re doing or where you’re going, people will not question your motives or so I was told.

It looked like no one was home, there were no cars in the driveway, no music playing and the television wasn’t on. I still decided to step into the porch, shifting the left flower pot to retrieve the keys for the front door. Cassandra had mentioned that she kept it there and had told me that I could always use it when I wanted. I felt like I was at liberty to access her whole world, the level of trust that she had in me. I guess she really was fond of me and all because I spent a few hours showering her with kind words. There really isn’t a value to treating somebody with love. I was starting to get a little annoyed by her though, that constant need for my attention was becoming too much to handle. I also had a girlfriend and a life of my own and it seemed like Cassandra wanted to go against our arrangement. It had developed from casual encounters to an almost every day rendez-vous, which was dangerous enough because I personally knew Xavier but even more so because he considered me a friend.

All these thoughts troubled my mind as I turned the door knob to enter into the living room. I would swear this was the first time that I entered the house, although I had been there so many times, even before our secret encounters. She changed the furniture so often that it felt like I was at a new address every time I stepped within the walls of the house. I guess that’s what you do when you get bored with yourself; that and our engagements, off course.

She had asked me once if I had thought of her as a cougar and I had quickly deflected that question but it seemed pretty accurate right about now. I was now walking all over the house, looking for Cassandra, tip-toeing my way through the kitchen, living room and still nothing. The only place left to explore was upstairs; the bedrooms and study. She had new paintings on the walls, I could almost smell the freshness of the batiks. She was a lover of art work; almost every wall of the house had some painting or statue hanging on it. It felt like living in a maze at times. I could now hear faint voices coming from the television. Someone was home. As I opened the bedroom, slowly enough, just in case Cassandra wasn’t alone, I received a knock right across my lower back.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhh,” I screamed out in pain but to no avail. I probably received two of three other blows while on the floor.

“Stop, stop, stop!” I begged, “it’s me, Mario!”

“Mario? Mario, what are you doing here? you frightened me!” Cassandra screamed out.

“I came for the massage,” I responded

“Why didn’t you call first?” She asked as she helped me off the rug.

“Because my phone is of no use to me right now; the damn thing refuses to work!”

“We have a rule, no unexpected visits. How was I suppose to know it was you? I thought it was a thief or even worst, a rapist,” she retorted.

And then we both exploded into laughter, seeing the funny side of the situation.

            “My back really hurts though,” I sighed.

            “I’m sorry baby, I will make it better for you but that’s what you get for trying to surprise me. We’ve agreed about no surprise visits. I hope you don’t hold it against me,”

            “Not too much!”

            “It didn’t hurt that bad, did it?” she whispered, biting the tip of my ear.

            “Yes, I felt it all over my body,” I responded with a soft hiss.

            “Awww, poor baby, I will make it all better,” she reinforced as she led me further into the bedroom.

            “Aren’t you going to close the door?” I asked.

            “I’m the only one home!” Cassandra replied with a cheeky smile.

The situation was getting better by the minute. I tried not to focus too much on my back. Cassandra must have been a cricketer in her past life; she swung that bat with some force. The West Indies team needs to give her a call up soon.

She gently pushed me unto the queen-sized bed; the white comforter that lined the four corners gently enveloped me, feelings like feathers against my skin. I would stay in between those sheets for hours, if only I could but the nature of our relationship prevented these comforts from going beyond an hour or two.

            “Where’s Xavier?” I asked, wanting to be sure that the coast was clear for what was about to transpire.

            “He said he would come over tonight but I haven’t heard anything from him,” she responded, “so I really don’t know and I don’t care.”

            “So he could be on his way here right now,”

            “Maybe, I don’t know, he hasn’t called or anything since morning,”

            “Are you mad? I can’t stay then, I need to go!”

            “But why? He isn’t going to come over, he always makes this promises and then never shows up… besides I’m horny and I’m about to blow up, I need you Mario, I need you!” she pleased, the look in her eye more desperate than I had seen her since our very first encounter. 

            “No, Cassandra, I can’t stay, this could blow up in our faces and I don’t want that. We have to play it safe,” I declared firmly.

As I got up to leave the house, Cassandra ran to the door, in a move of assertiveness or desperation - I can’t recall too clearly - and just locked it, refusing to let me pass. She continued to push me teasingly.

            “Where are you going?” she whispered, with a very sly smile across her face. Her boney cheeks and super white teeth now glistening in the dim light of the bedroom.

            “I have to go, it’s getting late and you know I don’t like to leave your home so late in case the neighbours are still awake,” I said, trying to think of a quick excuse.

            “Fuck the neighbours!” she replied staunchly to my surprise.

            “What about Xavier?” I desperately reminded her. He could be on his way over here, looking for a way out of the house.

            “Let him walk in on us, I could care less, he doesn’t want me anyway,”

            “Are you mad, he is my friend, that would just kill him,” I countered with such ease that it even troubled my mind that I could consider using the word friend under such circumstances. I guess Cassandra sensed my hesitancy and moment of weakness but she chose to use it as a moment to pounce on me, pushing me back unto the bed. Before I know it, she was all over me, ripping my t-shirt from my chest, her tongue all the way down my throat. She was being assertive and I loved it, her nails now entering the flesh of my back and chest, sending heat waves all over my body. My chest hairs were now standing at attention. I wanted her and I could no longer pretend. In one quick swoop, I turned her over which seemed to surprised her as she laughed out. She was enjoying it.

            “You’re mine now!” I grinned as I now knelt over her, on all fours, my two hands holding her down and my legs pinning hers to the bed.

            “I can’t move!” she muttered.

            “You don’t need too baby, just let me do my thing,” I replied into her left ear as I softly massaged it with my tongue. She squirmed. I knew she loved the personal attention, she craved it. I could feel her waist gyrating under me, I had her under my spell and it felt good. Slowly I made my way down her neck, leaving soft kisses and tender bites every few spots. Her skin was so soft. I could still smell the cocoa butter lotion on her skin. I loved that she took time off to pamper herself. She smelled heavenly; I could get lost and not worry at all about being found. One button after another I removed her pink top to reveal those perfect, perky breasts. I wondered how they remained so well-shaped. They reminded me of my teenage conquests, just standing erect to salute my starving mouth. She had the bests of beauty spots, just next to her left nipple. That was my favourite area, like a red velvet cake - dessert after the main course – just mouth-watering. By now, I could feel a warmth from between her thighs, a wet warmth so inviting that I was having trouble concentrating on the task at hand. Her hands were now firmly placed on the back of my neck as I made my way slowly downwards from her breasts, now massaging her navel with my tongue. Cassandra was one of those ladies that managed to keep her figure in tact despite having a child. Any man would have been pleased to be making love to her and tonight, she was all mines. Her body was responding to my every touch, even when I whistled against her skin, she wiggled with joy. The look in her eye was so intense; the small wrinkles at the corner of her eye seemed to suddenly disappear. The joy of love-making was awakening her youth right before my eyes; or was she stealing mine?

Suddenly, the mood just changed as a chill hovered over us.

            “Xavier!” she screamed, jumping off me.

            “Xavier?’ I asked, confused as to why she was calling me by his name.

            “Yes Xavier, he’s here! I just heard him pull up in the drive way,”

            “Oh shit, fuck me!”

            “No, not fuck you… he’s going to kill you!”

            “I need to hide, I need to hide!” I panicked.

            “Hurry, hurry, in the bathroom,”

            “No, no, he might come in there! What if he wants to pee?”

            “Where then?” She asked.

            “Under the bed,”

            “Under the bed? Yes, yes, that could work! Just don’t say a word or move a muscle,”

Before she could even finish her sentence I had already crawled under the bed, being as still as possible. She was busy collecting my clothes, shoving them under the bed. I balled them up and made a small pillow to rest my head as something told me this was going to be a long night, longer than I had ever anticipated. The tiles were very cold against my bare skin and I started trembling. I wish she would have turned off the air conditioning.

I could hear the two of them, Xavier and her, in deep conversation and then nothing, total silence. I stayed as still as I could, listening for any sounds, footsteps… the most sudden of actions so I could bolt from my hiding place and run out for rescue. But I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this. Almost on instinct my mouth opened and I began praying, quietly off course:

Dear Father,

I know I am not right in your eyes and I know that this event is my fault.

Father I should have listened to my conscience, I should have listened when you spoke.

But I promise Father, if you get me out of this situation that I will break of all ties with this woman.

I will love my girlfriend with all my heart and never cheat again.

This woman had me blind but now I see the light, now I see what I must do…

As I was preparing to say Amen, I felt this knock against my back. I was sure I was caught in the act. Turning around as slowly as I could but also with the intention of flinging my feet just in case it was Xavier.

“It’s me, hold on to your shoes. Xavier is watching football on the TV. Knowing him, he should soon fall asleep, get ready for us to leave,”

“Us?” I thought.

“Yes, I am coming too, I told him I had to visit a friend in Loubiere to drop off some money,”

“And he believed you?’ I whispered.

“Yes, he believes everything I tell him… now be quiet and wait a short while,”

After about fifteen minutes of thanking God and making the biggest of promises, Cassandra returned.

            “Time for us to go, he is asleep, already snoring too, hurry up,”

She didn’t have to tell me twice. I rushed out from under the bed, even knocking my head against its leg.

            “Ouch,” I cried out.

            “Quiet, you don’t want to wake him up now, do you?”

            “Not at all,” I responded as I scrambled to my leg”

I slipped on my pants and vest and I was out of the room. I wasn’t even going to put on my shoes. There was no time for that. I tip-toed down the staircase even if I could hear Xavier’s snoring from the living room.

            “How did she manage to get any sleep with him in the bed?” I thought. She must have a lot of air plugs. As I walked through the living room I had this sudden urge take over me. I stopped directly in front of Xavier, let out a low grin and put my tongue out. Just for a quick second, before I opened the door and exited the house.

            “Baby, I’m going to Loubiere to drop off the money for Lisa,” I heard Cassandra say to Xavier.

            “I think I am going upstairs, I’m tired!’ he responded.

“Damn fool,” I thought, still hoping that he wouldn’t take a look through the window. I was safely tucked into the back seat of Cassandra’s Harrier by that time though. He would need better than 20/20 vision to see through those tinted glasses. She came in a few moments after and started the ride.

“Are we safe?” I asked.

“Yes we are, that was close,” she exhaled. I exhaled too, for the first time in my recent past. I don’t think I will ever want to relive that.

“So where are we going now?” she asked.

“I’m going home, my car is parked a few lanes down,”

“Home? No! You’re coming with me!” she responded; simultaneously pressing the gas pedal as we sped away from Castle Comfort. We did make our way to Loubiere but it wasn’t our final destination. She was being awfully quiet, her demeanour a little too serious even, given what had just happened a few minutes ago.

“What are you up to? Where are you taking me?”

“Just be quiet and keep an open mind. I have always wanted to do this!”

“Do what”

“You will see. Tonight is the perfect night!”

And with that, I stopped all the fussing. I just sat back as she climbed up the back street in Pointe Michel making her way through Porée. The village was unusually quiet for a holiday. I guess everyone was still making their way back from the beach. I hadn’t noticed before but the moon was very bright, I could make out almost everything on the street as we passed. Cassandra made a sudden stop by the village council’s office and the continued unto the playing field. Normally, I would never support anyone driving unto the grass but I had decided to play the wait and see game. Cassandra had now come to a stop in the centre of the football field, directly above a patch used for cricket.

Apart from the absence of people, the field was alive with activity. The crickets were all chirping at the moon and we could see moths and other insects playing in the grass. Those were the wonders of a bright, full moon.

            “What are we doing here?” I asked with this nervous excitement.

            “Just be quiet! You were in charge earlier, now it is my turn,’ Cassandra replied. I liked the assertiveness, it stimulated me.

She started to remove my vest, kissing my chest and pulling against my hairs. I don’t know which was more erotic, the fact that she was taking control or that we were doing this in the open. It was in plain view of everybody, although there was nobody present. She bit my neck.

           “Remember, no biting!” I said.

           “Oh shut up!” she replied, “just be quiet and let me do what I want. I’m sick and tired of all these rules, all these restrictions.”

“What caused this volcano to erupt?” I thought, but too startled to say anything out loud.

She continued to bite and scratch my chest, holding me firmly down into the front seat of the car with her legs. She had managed to find enough space to ride me and I was feeling like a slave, the submissive who just obeyed every command. This was all new to me and it wasn’t easy for me to just sit there and let her have her way with me. Every time I raised my hands to place it on her skin or even touch her face, she slapped me, harder with every blow. They were beginning to hurt so I closed my eyes, hoping that she would get tired but this new role seemed to enthuse her with so much energy. Cassandra was having the time of her life.

“Where was she hiding all of this sensation these past couple months?” I questioned. We have had our private sessions but nothing as energetic or overpowering as what I was undergoing. She seemed so into it. By now, there was a slight drizzle outside so we pulled up the windows and the SUV’s air condition cooled down our temperature just a bit. Cassandra seemed to revel in that ambiance, a huge glow on her face as she continued to impress me. We were both totally naked and she curled up into a ball just in front of me, as I sat expectantly on the passenger side.

“I know what you want,” she said coyly.

“Well baby, give it to me,” I murmured, not wanting to spoil the mood or sound too desperate.

“Patience is a virtue,”

“I’ve been a good boy,”

“I know, and you deserve a reward,”

            “Yes I do,” I responded with some finality as I closed my eyes. Cassandra leaned in closer to me, her face a few inches from my waist. The moment had arrived. She had been so very shy and unwilling to give blowjobs before. In fact, she had never given me one. I was the one who had been servicing her all this time. She had mentioned her fear of throwing up but I told her she could have practiced with a cucumber. All these months of promising me fellatio and the moment had arrived. And what a night it was, after a near encounter with Xavier to now being alone in the middle of a football field, with just the full moon and light rain as company. And suddenly…

The window of the Harrier caved in, with broken glass crashing all over me. The car alarm went haywire.

            “Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!” screamed Cassandra.

            “What the fuck!” I shouted out as I tried to duck out of the way.

            “Mario, Mario, get the fuck out of this car!” this all too familiar voice shrieked. “What the fuck is going on here?”

As I turned around to see Shana, this bright flashlight blinded me. I covered my eyes to shield myself from the rays. There was another female figure there next to her but I couldn’t make out the person. I tried to make sense of it all. I could still hear Cassandra, who by now had scrambled unto the back seat, screaming away. Shana had returned early from Antigua and had been following me all this time.

            “What are you doing back in Dominica?” I asked, trying to deflect the situation.

            “No, no, no, let me ask the questions!”

            “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, baby, I made a mistake” I continued, still holding up my hand in the air, begging for forgiveness.

“You’re hiding your face?” Shana kept bawling out, with a bat pointed towards me.

            “Put down the bat so I can explain” I pleaded, “please put down the bat, baby.”

            “No, no, no, just talk and don’t baby me at all!”

“Okay, okay, I can explain, I can explain!” I replied, still trying to buy some time.

The End.