FORTY THREE
SELENA
As I stared at the colourful bungalow whose entrance was decorated with an artificial lawn and a slide that looked very tiny from where I was, I gripped the handle of the door. My eyes followed Damon as he approached an elderly woman that walked out of the building, followed by two children who looked eager to play.
“Should we ditch him?” Lucius’s stern voice reached my ears and as I whipped my head in his direction, my head danced to signify a negative response. “Why are you doing this?” he asked further.
Sighing hard, my head darted to the right again and I watched as Damon approached us, a small smile on his face. A tingle danced in my stomach as he moved closer and I felt my pussy lips smear together as my legs crossed over each other.
I am a woman who is done for, I am not going to lie.
It has been almost two weeks since our rendezvous at the party hall’s car park and I feel highly starved. Anytime I set my eyes on Damon, I ease my needs by imagining us in a sensual position, but these days, that plan hardly works.
There must be something about his touch…
“Well…” I proceeded to reply to Lucius’s earlier question. “Let’s just say I am doing this because there is something I need from him.”
“You don’t have to subject yourself to such lowly activities for that reason,” Lucius continued, speaking more than he usually did. “I don’t like the advantage you are giving that guy.”
Slowly, I glanced in Lucius’s way, my side eye still watching Damon whose hands were now making certain gestures. “I can’t help it, Lucius.”
The driver seat made rustling sounds as the hefty man adjusted and faced me squarely. “We shouldn’t be here, boss. We are not people who run charities or cater to other people’s needs. It has always been the opposite. We make people cater to us.” His last words, spoken with a low voice yet, very solid and filled with intent, made me smile.
“Lucius,” my smile grew bigger as my hand found the door handle again, “let’s think of this as an opportunity to experience something new. Besides, being in the gang all the time makes me weary.”
“Are you trying to back out now?” Damon asked as he met me landing my feet on the ground. The sound of the slamming door reached my ears. As I briefly looked at my feet which put on a pair of white-pencilled heels, I ironed my plaid skirt with my palms. “It’s too late to back out, Selena,” Damon continued. “Besides…” His left foot took a step closer and all that was left was for him to hug me to his chest. As his manly scent reached my nostrils, the breath from his mouth brushed against my ear as he whispered, “… you know what happens if you don’t go through with this.”
“I know, I know,” I commented with a touch of nonchalance in my voice when I actually found his action really provocative. If I had not taken a few steps back seconds later, I would have started wishing for him to sneak his hand past my skirt and pleasure me right on the street.
So, thank God I took a step back. It would have been scarring for the kids if that scenario came to life.
“Do we have to be here though?” I asked as I scanned my eyes through the building. In my mind, I was reading the name written on the small signboard hung over the building. Then, I looked at Damon, “I don’t exactly like children.”
“They are lovely beings, Selena. You might end up loving them.”
Sighing, I adjusted the patterned suit I threw over the simple-strapped, white blouse I had on. “Let’s just see how things go. Lucius, can you help us with the things in the boot?”
Almost chuckling at Lucius’s eye-roll that barely looked like one, I followed Damon who already carried two boxes of the package we prepared- well, Damon did most of the preparation.
“Oh my!” The elderly woman Damon was talking to earlier greeted us as we walked past the tiny corridor that eventually led into a fairly large room that was crowded with kids.
“Damon!” A shrill voice cried excitedly and I observed as tiny hands wrapped around his right leg, stalling his proper movements. “You are back!”
“Of course, Ashley,” Damon chuckled as he dropped the boxes and carried the small girl in his arms. “I told you I’ll be back, didn’t I?”
“Yes, you did,” a childish voice replied. Then, my face wore a frown as I watched the tiny creature called Ashley cup Damon’s face.
She gets to touch him but I don’t?
The world is indeed unfair.
“Have you been eating well?” Damon queried the girl as they walked further into the room. Before Ashley could respond, other kids ran toward him and displayed happiness that came in the form of shouts, enormous grins and jumpy feet.
Patiently, Damon greeted them, sharing their excitement.
“It has been a while since he came to see the children,” the woman that greeted us earlier said, her smile a little bit wrinkly but gorgeous. “He is one of the few people who come back after their first visit.”
Though I was tempted to ask her if I had requested an explanation, I smiled and said, “That’s nice.”
“You should have your seat, the greetings are going to take a while.”
As she led me to a nearby pillow which was laid on the ground, she said, “I apologize, we don’t have chairs here. I would have offered the chair in my office, but it is a hassle to carry it as it is made from heavy wood.”
She handed me a small blanket and I collected the material.
“That’s fine,” I said while I took off my shoes and after, I had my seat on the soft material, my legs crossing beneath my waist area. Swiftly, as I balanced my suit jacket, and placed the blanket over my lower body, I ran my sight across the room, noting the several pillow seats sprawled across the space.
As the greetings in front of me reduced, the children rushed toward their seats as Damon ushered them. But Ashley decided to do otherwise. Her small legs raced toward the entrance and, without a pause, she hugged Lucius who was struggling with the four boxes he had stacked in his hold. The topmost box had a huge nylon of stuffed toy sleeping on it.
“Hi,” the little squealed happily. Then, with her bob-shaped hair dancing, she faced Damon who offered to help Lucius with the items in his hold. “Damon, your friend is huge!”
“I know right? He is so huge and sometimes scary.”
Ashley, who still had her hands wrapped around the tall man’s legs shook her head and said, “He is not scary, he is huge!”
Quickly, the elder woman rushed toward the little girl and carried her away, chuckling and saying, “She is quite hyper today. Don’t mind her.”
My smile grew bigger as I watched Lucius mask his scowl. As I watched him walk out, the woman stood in the middle of the room and began to talk. “How about we do some colouring now?”
“Yay!” The kids chorused.
Damon sat beside me, handing me a book after. “Do you want to do some colouring? You must be getting bored.”
“Actually,” I snatched the book, “I am not. It has been fun to see you act like a…”
“Like a what?” he inquired, one of his brows lifted.
I was about to use the word ‘fool’, but I caught myself as I recalled the night he said I annoyed him greatly. It would be a fault on my side if I ruin the kids' happiness by angering him. So, as I stared at the book, I shook my head and said, “It has not been boring so far.”
His body leaned toward mine. “Did I tell you thank you for giving me money to get some stuff for the kids?”
“You don’t have to,” I mumbled as my fingers began to flip the pages of the slim book. I was about to grab a colour pencil from the case in front of Damon when Ashley suddenly came up and snatched the book from my hand.
A soft gasp escaped my lips as the girl sauntered to the other end of the room and settled with the book she had just stolen from me.
“Ashley,” Damon’s voice turned stern as he focused on the girl. “Why would you do that?”
Shrugging with delight, she stuck her tongue at Damon and me and began to work on the book.
Oh, that little… child.
How dare she?
For a second, I hoped to crawl over the brown, plastered floor and grab my book from her hold, but I soon let go of that intention when Damon handed me his own.
“Don’t get angry at her,” he said as I took the book from him. “Just use mine. You are doing a great job so far, Selena.” My eyes were still trained on the book that was slightly bigger than the other when his palm initiated a stroking action down the length of my hair. A tiny smile in his eyes, he placed his sight on me as his hand went through my hair, patting me in a way that no one has ever done. “Welldone, Selena.”
Quickly, as I felt something strange stir inside me, I adjusted my position, clearing my throat at the same time. Then, after my eyes swept across the busy and hardly noisy room, a small smile found its way to my lips.
The seriousness on the kids' faces as they played with their books was accompanied by smiles and small talk. They didn’t seem to mind the fact that their bodies were gradually assuming positions that looked weird. There was one kid that used his mate as a table for his legs as he held his book in the air.
The entire room displayed a sight I have never seen before, so I stared for a period longer than I intended. It was when Damon nudged me and asked me to start colouring that I snapped out of that moment.
With haste, I shook my head and soon, I was in a comfortable position that allowed me to work on the book.
~
Truthfully, there was something about filling blank shapes with colours that brought peace to my being. Of course, I will deny feeling this way in the nearest future, but I will cherish how calm the simple activity made me feel.
As I sat up and stretched, I felt Damon’s warmth shift closer.
“You did well, Selena.” The smile he directed at me was so freaking cute, I just wanted to kiss him right there. But, before I could stare at his lips some more and fantasize, he got up and asked the kids to show him their paintings.
“Diego, wow. Great job!” he praised as a little boy shyly handed his book to the tall man. Like that, Damon praised all the kids who rushed toward him, waving their books in the air.
While I observed the sight in front of me, I felt someone sit beside me. It was the woman.
“I am surprised you decided to join us,” she said and I turned to face her.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“I can tell from your clothes that you are rich,” her eyes raked my outfit, “and most rich people don’t pay attention to places like this unless they have ulterior motives.”
“Ulterior motives?” I asked, wondering how that could be? It would be a waste of time for any one with power to deal with places like an orphanage.
Swiftly, she moved closer. “It is often said that we shouldn’t speak about the higher powers in our country, but there’s a man who comes here every year and uses this place for his business. It would have been no issue if he came and went peacefully, but he always comes with goons and their presence always scare the children.”
Okay… that’s a disappointing thing to hear. What fool would indirectly involve children in his activities. My curiosity peaked. I shifted closer and asked, “Who is this man? Do you know his name?”
She nodded her head, allowing me to note the grey portion of her hair which was packed into a low bun. “His name is Malik.”
“Hmm…” I responded as I inwardly seethed at the audacity of that bastard. As though it was not enough to be in Damish Gang’s bad books, he involves orphanages in his businesses. “Well-”
My intention to speak was interrupted by some noise from outside which quickly found its way into the room we were in.
The heavy presence that strutted the room with guarded men behind him was quick to lock eyes with me. His huge lips which had been injected to the point of absolutely destroying his natural lips began to speak.
“Who would have thought that I would find you here?”
Damon queried me with his glare as I got up and walked toward the man. “Damancio,” I said calmly.
“That’s me.”
“Don’t be foolish and get out of here.”
“But I came to see you.” As the man whined, a small pout on his lips, I was instantly reminded of the numerous times I rejected his marriage proposal. Thank goodness I didn’t give in to his demands even when he won my father over.
Anyway… the man in front of me has succeeded in angering me greatly with his rash entry into the room that was filled with children.
For that, I will make sure I deal with him… mercilessly.
