𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝟏𝟔: 𝟐𝟏 𝐒𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐠𝐞- 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐈𝐭 𝐟𝐭. 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐫

April 7, 2023
5:22 PM

Cara sat with her back against the car door as she faced Dee. For no apparent reason the two of them found themselves parked in front of the nearby lake. The sun was setting and the mood was very mellow, well atleast for Deion since he just finished smoking. There weren't many people around, just a few people who jogged past along the trail.

Her fingers were tracing over the tattoos that were on his right arm. The moment seemed to be going by slowly for them but time was actually speeding by. Cara was loving every single second of sitting here enduring their quiet connection but she had somewhere to be.

She really anticipated the moment she was back in her car since he drove her to work and picked her up. "You know I have to go soon right?" she slightly leaned over the center console and rested her hand on the side of his face.

"Yeah, what time do you have to be there?" he questioned looking at the digital clock in the car.

Cara realized that she and Ari didn't have a set time earlier but yet just insisted on meeting at her house. "I mean Ari isn't coming over until maybe eight or nine but I need to shower and cook up something"

Deion sat up in the seat from his slouched position. "Aye, why Ari always wearing them bobs? She gone be old as hell with the same hairstyle?"

Cara let out a loud laugh as she turned in her seat so she could put her seatbelt back on. "Not too much on my friend. She looks cute with her bobs. It's like her signature look." For as long as she could remember Arianna was able to pull off some of the cutest short hairstyles.

On the way back home Cara's body grew hot as she built up the courage to finally bring up what happened from the other day. She felt like she could just move past it but it was just dwelling on her. "Did you..You know. Take care of that?"

Deion kept his eyes focused on the road, using only one hand to drive and the other to hold onto her hand. "Take care of what?"

"You know..Michael?"

"Who is Michael?" he smirked.

"Nevermind" she wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic or just petty.

Dee nodded at her dropping the topic and stayed quiet the remainder of the drive. Although he didn't show it he was hurting inside. He was starting to feel lost as the day he dreaded roamed around.Oddly, he would feel down around this day every year but something about this time around didn't sit right with him.

In the rearview mirror he could see Keisha she had on a red dress, similar to one of the dresses Cara owned. He repeatedly looked at the road and then up in the rearview mirror. Why isn't she saying anything like she usually does?

From the backseat she moved her hair over her shoulder and pulled out a mirror, from where? He didn't know. Keisha looked in the mirror and examined her face and then moved the mirror from her face revealing Cara's face.

Dee blinked hard as he fought hard to get her out of his mind. He should've followed his first thought and burned her name back in Tennessee. It's just that he was unsure and didn't know where things would lead him after that trip.

Looking back up at the rearview mirror he saw nothing. It all vanished.

He didn't even know that Cara was just talking to him until she let go of his hand. When she did that it felt like a piece of his soul was removed from his body. He looked down at her hand furiously. "Why did you let me go?" he quickly grabbed her hand again, this time intertwining their fingers.

"I was just trying to grab my lip gloss" she smiled and used her other hand to dig in her purse. "Did you hear what I said though?"

He shook his head "Nah I zoned out. My fault"

She rolled her eyes. "I said I'm attending one of our partnered awards ceremonies. It's basically an association of all Chicago Realtors and I want you to come with me.It's last minute but it's coming up next week"

"I'll go"

Cara smiled "Good" she felt like this was the perfect time to throw in another thing she wanted him to attend. "Since you're agreeing to things. I think you should come have lunch with my dad and I. I'll invite Danielle" she said quickly. "You said Yes? Okay I'll set it up now"

Deion pressed down on the brakes abruptly, making the few cars behind them honk and swerve around. If Cara didn't have on her seatbelt she would've been through the windshield. "Ian said no shit like that Cara"

Cara pulled out her phone and quickly sent a text to Danielle "Oops. I already sent the invite"

"Man whatever" he hit the gas pedal and cut off the nearest car. "What if I don't show up?"

Cara shrugged "What if I break up with you?"

"You right" he let it go. He knew he wasn't going to win this back and forth with her.

Cara leaned over and kissed the side of his face, leaving her Nars Rita-Scarlet red lipstick on his cheek. "I know. Im always right"

"Yeah iight, you chasin' it now." Dee pulled into her driveway right behind Ari's car. She showed up a little earlier than expected.

Cara grabbed her belongings as Dee got out and went around to go open her door for her. Something he had recently started doing upon his mannerism journey he was learning. His hands fell down to her waist once she was fully out of the car. "What ima do while you here with Dora?" he nodded towards Ari's car.

"Bye Deion" she tried to move past him but he pulled her back and pressed his lips to hers. Cara moaned as his tongue explored her mouth.

When he pulled back from the kiss he gripped her neck and gave her a few more pecks on the lips. "Don't ever walk away from me without a proper goodbye" He let her go.

Cara was in the mood for more. She had to cross her legs and look elsewhere. "Hmm maybe I should tell Ari to come over another time huh?"

Dee chuckled "Nah gone head and enjoy yo company. I gotta go slide somewhere real quick anyway"

Cara sighed and walked up the driveway. She really didn't want him to go but was happy that she could sit down with Ari.

Instead of making his way home, Dee headed out to the wooded area where Michael was. He took the longest way possible to get there so he could be sure of his decision. Improving a new mindset had to be one of the hardest things Dee has done. The mindset he worked on when entering the music industry was different, he had to lay low, focus on how the world perceived him plus silently grieve and battle Keisha's death.

The new mindset of falling in love again was a bit different. He was now battling old habits, accepting someone else's flaws, and still keeping his head on a swivel for his career. Cara just made his life so much better that he was one hundred percent willing to change only for her.

Deion flipped on the lights in the large open space and walked over to the glass cage. Michael's eyes now had dark tired bags under them. His beard was thick and shaggier. His face held no expression when he saw Dee, he almost wished it was Cara he was seeing again just so he could get a glimpse of someone else before he met his fate.

Deion pulled out the key to the lock and opened the door. Michael who was still just gazing ahead didn't notice that the door was wide open until Dee spoke up. "Unless you wanna stay in here until you die you better get out"

Michael pushed his body up from the cold cement floor and carefully made his way to the door. Michael wasn't weak but he also wasn't stupid so he kept his guard up thinking that it may have been a trap.

"No woman is ever worth anything like this" Michael muttered.

Dee's intrusive thought of regretting his decision and torching Michael's body instead, almost won but he calmed himself down. "Cara is"

Michael squinted his eyes. "So now what? I'm just supposed to go back to my regular life and forget this?"

Dee nodded "Yeah and make sure to attend that awards shit thats coming up and you'll acknowledge Cara that night as well"

Micahel scoffed "And if I dont? You deserve to be in jail pulling off shit like this"

"If you don't show up and acknowledge her. Ima give your family something to celebrate on a upcoming week, preferably wearing the color black"

Michael knew that he was wealthy but lacked security and didn't like to have many run-ins with the police. The smartest thing he could think of now was to stop questioning this mysterious man and to leave. With precaution he walked backwards to the back door, he wanted to make sure Dee wouldn't just kill him once his back was turned.

Once he pushed open the heavy metal door, he looked around and inhaled deeply. The fresh air was something he never realized that he should appreciate until now. "How the fuck I get out of here?' he mumbled mostly to himself.

Dee walked out of the door and heard him. "Figure it out. It's a road about 3 miles south" he hopped in his car and started it up before pulling off.

Michael looked around once again and shook off the cool air while thanking God that he was still alive.

Cara and Ari were so invested in each other's company that they were back like they never fell out, like any true friendship. After looking at the Arrest record in the file folder the two of them laid the subject to rest and went on about their night catching up and gossiping, ending the night with a movie that they both fell asleep on. Cara was glad that Ari didn't know much about what she had seen in the arrest record because if she was smart she would've noticed the pages that Cara removed from the stack.

Her loud doorbell woke both of them up from their sleeping positions on the couch. Cara reached for her phone to check her ring camera and saw that it was Dee. He had a key but probably wanted to be respectful and mindful of the fact that Arianna was there. "It's Dee" she whispered.

Ari collected the papers that were spread across the table and handed them to Cara who quickly stuffed them in the folder and moved it to the side. She cleared her throat and stood up to open the door. The smile she had on her face dropped when she saw the look of concern he wore. "Hey what's wrong?" she moved to the side so he could come in.

He walked in and spotted Ari on the couch who was now under the throw cover with her eyes on the new movie that was playing on the screen. She glanced at him for a second and then back at the tv "Dee"

Deion gave her a slight head nod as an acknowledgment and just went upstairs straight to Cara's room.

Cara closed the front door and looked at Ari who was mouthing 'what happened?' to her. Cara shrugged and mouthed 'I don't know'

Ari got up from the couch and grabbed her phone and cover. "Alright I'll be in the guest room down here. Wake me up if you need me" she excused herself.

Cara then headed upstairs to her room where Dee was laying on his back just looking up at the ceiling. Cara closed the door and climbed in the bed laying next to him but she was on her stomach instead. "You wanna talk?"

He grabbed her arm and pulled her closer to his body. Cara turned on her side, placing her head on his chest and one of her legs across his body. She laid there just listening to his heartbeat. If she could she would make hers beat at the same pace.

Learning how to control her patience was being tested right now because he still didn't say anything but she was letting him have his moment.

After a few minutes of them laying in silence he spoke up "I fucked up Cara"

Cara immediately sat up "You cheated on me?! Watch out Leo" she pushed her dog out of the way so she got out of the bed and square up. "Get up so we can run a fade"

Deion smiled "Come lay down ain't nobody cheat on you"

Cara put her fists down "Aw okay. You got lucky" she got back on the bed "So what do you mean?"

Deion couldn't hold in what he was trying to say any longer. "I kille-"

Cara cut him off by covering his mouth with her hand. Her eyes widened at the sudden announcement he was about to make. Even though Ari might've said she was downstairs sleeping doesn't mean that's what she was actually doing.

The room was way too quiet for this conversation. She removed her hand from his mouth and turned on her tv going to some random show and turning the volume up just in case Ari was listening. "Okay go ahead"

Deion reached over to touch her thigh. "Nevermind" he figured he would have to tell her another time when he mustered up that feeling again.

"Well when you are ready to talk about it I'm here" she placed her hand on top of his.

He brought the back of her hand to his lips. That's why I love you. He thought to himself

[The next day]

Cara crossed her legs under her desk as she read some of the incoming requests. This has been one of the most productive days she's had in such a long time. This was also the calmest she had been in a while. No worries at all, her relationship with her friends was good. Her relationship with Dee and as far as her dad she just figured he was super busy.

She felt like she missed him as she heard someone in the lobby that had the same voice as him. It wasn't until the receptionists light voice came closer and closer to her door that she realized it was her dad.

"Sir I'm not sure if she's taking new clients today I need to ask her" Her heels tapped against the floor following right behind Charles.

Charles completely ignored her and walked in to Cara's office.

Cara looked up from her desk with a smile and stood up. "It's okay Emily, this is my dad"

The receptionist nodded quickly and left out of the room. She definitely didn't want to be fired for letting strangers in the building.

Charles closed the door behind him and then faced his daughter again this time he looked angry. "Cara I never raised you to be a fucking thief right?"

"Right. I'm sorry what are you trying to say?" She blinked steadily.

Charles walked over to her desk "Give it back" he demanded.

She knew exactly what he was talking about but was she going to tell him? No. "Give what back?"

"That folder. I checked yesterday and It wasn't there"

Cara just stood there lost for words. She dug deep into her acting bag and changed the tone of her voice so she could sound hurt. "I can't believe you thought I would steal something from you. Why would I need to take anything from you and what folder?" Her face softened.

Charles knew his daughter too well and went to look through the folders on her desk. All of them only pertained to information from either former clients or new clients none of them were about Deion.

"I don't know what you're looking for but whatever have at it" she wasn't worried because she snuck and put it back earlier this morning before going in to work. Charles must've forgot that she had a spare key to his car.

Charles looked at his daughter and pointed at her "I'm not playing games with you Cara"

Cara put her wrists out "Am I under arrest?"

Charles straight faced her and then left out of her office without saying another word.

Cara fixed the documents on her desk that were once neat before he came in. She took a few minutes to herself to calm down and was interrupted by the sound of her phone ringing. She seen it was her father so she accepted it.

"I found it" He simply said.

"Mhm like I said why would I need to steal anything from you. But since you were acting like that I wanna know what's so important in that file?" she turned her chair around so that she was now looking out the large glass window that gave her a glimpse of the downtown skyline.

"Uhh nothing important just some work stuff. I'll call you back after work so we can set up this lunch you texted me about" He rushed off of the phone.

Cara ended the call and then looked at the shredder in her office that had a few new pieces of paper in it from this morning. She then turn to face the small photo frame she had on her desk of her and Deion.

She picked it up and kissed it and then pressed it to her chest. "I told you nothing or no one will come between us"

I can't believe I got this far in the book without giving yall a sex scene. I guess I'll give yall a lil sum sum.