Read Life for Free Online Page B

the toll booth,
    passed.
    “ Smile,” Life said.
    “ Shiiit,” I hissed, showing my teeth for a different reason,
    looking like an angry possum about to attack his ass.
    “ Listen Hope,” Life said. His voice was diplomatic, but I
    could tell he was fighting for self-control. We were two people get-
    ting on each other’s nerves.
    “ You should have never attempted to make a trip in this car.
    The radiator leaks, the motor is bad and some mo shit.” The
    cadence of his voice changed almost as if he were talking to a small
    child.
    “ Hope we’re just about two hours outside of Tallahassee. We
    can walk, sleep in the car, or we can get a few hours of rest at a
    hotel while the car is getting fixed. I saw a Holiday Inn a few miles
    back. I’ll call a tow truck and we can leave first thing in the morn-
    ing.”
    I slumped over the steering wheel placing my head over my
    arms. I was exhausted, my head hurt and just the thought of a
    long luxurious bath was tempting.
    31

 
    L i f e
    “ We’ll sleep in separate rooms,” he assured. His words a gam-
    bit. I figured, what did I have to lose? It was 2:00 a.m. and I was
    tired. Spending the night in my car just did not appeal to me. So
    I agreed under those conditions.
    About thirty minutes later a tow truck was being hooked up
    to my car. I grabbed my meager luggage and the three one hun-
    dred dollar bills in the ashtray. Ever since I was a little girl, there
    had always been something about hotels that I found alluring.
    They made me feel like something I have never enjoyed, a vaca-
    tion. At the Holiday Inn we got separate rooms with an adjoining
    door. I kept mine locked.
    As soon as we got our rooms, he walked me to mine like a
    complete gentleman, and then went to the bar to get something
    to drink. I took a long, hot luxurious shower that felt so good I
    did not want to come out of there. After ward, I put on my night-
    ie and crashed underneath the covers, but I could not sleep. Life’s
    face kept appearing on the screen of my mind.
    OK, I can’t lie, curiosity was killing me. It also killed the cat,
    or in my case, I should say kitty.
    *****
    32

 
    Chapter Four
    Chapter Four
    “ Fahrenheit of Lust”
    – Hope –
    Curiosity got the best of me and I made the second biggest mis-
    take of my life. The first one was helping him and now this.
    I tiptoed to the door, unlocked it and then tried his door. It
    opened. A single dim light shined in the room. Life sat perched in
    a chair in front of a large picture window with the blinds opened
    wide. He wasn’t wearing a shirt. The gleaming swimming pool in
    front of his room reflected a kaleidoscope of colors off of his body.
    A cigarette dangled from his finger as gray smoke ringed his head.
    On the table was a bag of ice, a fifth of Hennessy and a shot
    glass half filled. For some reason I just watched that man as the
    smoke curled out his mouth, the stolid face of a Black man
    impelled by his thoughts. Lord knows he had a lot to think about.
    Again I wondered if he killed those men. I also wondered was I
    attracted to him, a thug.
    He took a sip of his drink, pinky finger extended, then he
    made a face the way people do from a drink of strong liquor as he
    stared at something out the window. Whatever it was held his
    attention. Moments passed and he had me looking too, and sud-
    denly it dawned on me what he was looking at–Me!!
    “ Do you always creep into people’s rooms spyin’ on them
    when you think they’re not watching?”
    I was cold busted. The entire time, he was looking at me
    through the reflection in the window. Slowly he turned toward me
    33

 
    L i f e
    and I could see the scar underneath his eye. Something was miss-
    ing, something was wrong. This was the intimate part of the man
    without his mask, hur t prevailed on his face and instantly I regret-
    ted coming into his room. His eyes roamed my body for a fleeting
    second and then looked away, as if he were dismissing me.
    “ Go and get