FLOSS by Monica Marie Jones
Prologue
Jabez
Jabez was certain that he had been blessed with the gift of discernment, but sometimes he wasn’t sure whether it was really a gift, or if it was a curse. With this gift Jabez could look at people beyond face value and tell what they were really about deep down.
His gift kicked in as he watched the scantily clad women in denim miniskirts and bikini tops walk past him on Ocean Drive in South Beach. He mentally created a bio for each one of them. After attending Urban Beach Week in Miami for the first time two years ago, they’d decided to make the trip the traditional yearly get away for the fellas during Memorial Day Weekend… in memory of how much fun they’d had the first time.
While everyone else in the crew slept in after a night of partying hard at SoBe Live Nightclub, Jabez elected to rise early to take in the scenery which consisted of an array of women spanning from mediocre to exotic. He was quite pleased to see that the spectrum was much heavier on the exotic side. As amazing as they all appeared to be, none of them intrigued him more than the woman who had his attention at the moment. His mind drifted to thoughts of her.
Her name was Dionysus. The name was fitting. She was named after a male Greek God, and while there was no mistaking that she was all woman, she thought and acted like a guy. They had been involved for a few months now, but from the beginning he’d had her all figured out. She was extremely gorgeous but to the world around her she appeared to be a high maintenance, money hungry, manipulator. These titles did ring true when it came to her actions, but Jabez could tell that beneath the surface that she had a good heart and that her ways stemmed from some deeper issues.
“What are you drinking on?” Asked a sun kissed sister who had invited herself to sit on the empty wicker barstool next to him.
“Vodka and Cranberry,” He said in a tone laced with an underlying message that nonverbally asked, Why? Are you buying?
He wouldn’t be surprised if she did buy his drink. She was clearly pressed. He knew this because she had been watching him for the longest and doing all of the little things that women do to make sure that they get noticed. Things like walking by with a slow and deliberate swagger to make sure that he saw her ample behind in shorts that were two sizes too small.
“Really? That’s my favorite drink!” She hesitated, obviously waiting and hoping that he would never allow a lady to buy his drink, but that he would instead graciously pick up the tab for both of them. If she had she been sincere, he would have done just that, but she was trying to be slick.
“Thanks for sharing.” He said in a voice dripping with syrupy sincerity before turning back to his favorite past time of people watching. He laughed to himself at the thought of how stupid she must be sitting there looking. What he really wanted to say was, Baby, I am from Detroit, so you are really going to have to step your game up if you want something from me. Poor girl. He would have felt sorry for her, but he knew that the fact that she couldn’t have him just made her want him that much more.
Women. So complicated, yet so simple. He had traveled the world and experienced women of every color, and for the most part, they were all basically the same. But there was one thing he knew for sure. Detroit women were in a class of their own.
Take Dionysus’ cousin, Torah for example. She was just as materialistic as Dionysus but people also had her pegged as an airhead and a freak. What they didn’t realize was that she was far smarter than what people thought. She was one of those people to watch out for because while folks thought that things were going over her head, she was actually absorbing it all like a sponge. On countless occasions Jabez had witnessed her observing, listening and taking in everything around her.
For a moment, he wished that Dionysus was there with him in South Beach so that he could tell her about this silly broad. He glanced over and saw that she was still sitting there plotting her next attempt at getting and keeping his attention. If Dionysus were here, she would have saved him from this unsavory situation while still giving him the freedom to pursue other women as much as he pleased. He would give her the same space. That was one of the many things he appreciated about what they had. It was an unspoken understanding.
Jabez and Dionysus were very open and honest with one another so she was aware of and informed about the other women that he dated as was he about the men that she dated. This was due to the fact that even though they were not boyfriend and girlfriend they knew that they held the top spot in each other’s lives.
Whether she knew it or not, she was what he considered his “Main.” This meant that she was his main girl of the many that he dealt with. It was a situation that was any man’s dream. They would often sit back and crack jokes about their respective suitors and how dense they all were. The most idiotic one in her roster was a guy named Tyse.
Tyse was a younger cat that had many people fooled into believing that he was a lot more important than he really was. When Dionysus told Jabez about Tyse, she initially believed the game that he ran on her to be true, but what she told him just didn’t add up so Jabez knew from the start that this guy was full of himself. He just hoped that her instincts would kick in soon enough to figure out what this Tyse character was really about before he made a fool out of her.
Tyse wasn’t too different from his boy Solomon. Solomon wasn’t as far gone as to pretend that he was someone he was not, which appeared to be the case with Tyse, but he went out of his way to keep up appearances. Maybe he could pass this bothersome girl off to Solomon once he woke up. Just the mere fact that she had shown interest in Jabez would make Sol want to try his hand at getting with her. He was that type of guy.
It was clear that wherever she was from, she was used to getting attention. Perhaps the one out of her clique that got the most attention. She had obviously handpicked Jabez to be her sponsor for the weekend, but he was not accepting the position. Solomon, on the other hand would gladly blow all of his money on a big butt and a smile.
Solomon worked hard at trying to impress others by having the best of everything whether he could really afford it or not. He had no problem with living beyond his means. His main concerns were trying to keep up with Jabez and trying to compete with their other friend since childhood named Abel.
Abel was a hard act to follow because he had a lot going for himself. He had achieved success in the areas of education, business, women, and everything else that a man measures his worth by with half of the effort. To top it all off, he was an all around good guy with a great personality and a giving spirit; so it was really hard to hate him for all that he had. He was one of those guys that you couldn’t help but be happy for.
Jabez had them all figured out, himself included. He knew that he had a lot handed to him by his wealthy parents, but he also knew that it took hard work to keep it and get more. Unfortunately he was also aware that no matter how much you have, or how hard you work to keep it, things can still be snatched away from you in an instant.
He worked hard so he played hard. Like everyone else, he wanted a taste of the finer things in life and he wanted the world to know that he knew what the flavor was. For that very reason Jabez, Dionysus, Torah, Tyse, Solomon and Abel all had one love in common. They all lived and loved to FLOSS.
CHAPTER 1
Dionysus
Since Jabez, the one she really wanted to be with, wasn’t available, she took Tyse up on his offer. They’d agreed to meet at his place at 7pm and from there they would ride to the restaurant together. In order to get her out of the broken nail induced slump that she had been in, Dionysus decided to get all dolled up. She put on a fresh pair of low-rise, fitted stretch denim jeans over her favorite thong and a tight blazer that was designed like a bustier over her matching padded push up bra from Victoria’s Secret.
The jacket, fastened with shiny silver clasps down the front, streamlined her waist that was already small to begin with. It was open at the bottom so it showed off her flat stomach adorned with a sparkling navel ring. After putting a few loose and messy curls in her thick hair she applied her false eyelashes, coal eyeliner and some clear Mac Lip Glass. She finished the job by spraying her entire body with Sweet Temptations body spray and stepping into her black leather stiletto pumps. She was well aware that Tyse took pride in using her as his show piece so she played right into the role. It was well worth all of the money that he spent on her.
When she was done primping she glanced at the clock and was stunned to realize that it was 7:15pm and she had not heard from Tyse yet. She grabbed her keys, purse and a leather jacket and headed for her car, a brand new SUV that was a gift from a smitten fan of hers that she hadn’t even so much as allowed to sniff her goods.
He paid the car note on time, every month, like clockwork by simply depositing the amount into her Pay Pal account online. All she had to do was post one of her sexy modeling photos on the computer for him to look at while he masturbated. His only request was that she watch him do it on his webcam while typing an occasional sexy sentence every now and then on Instant Messenger. She never even had to turn on her web video camera. The picture, a shot of her in a bikini from the back looking over her shoulder seductively at the camera, was enough to do it for him.
He was old, overweight and disgusting to her, so she never really looked at the cam unless she and her cousin wanted a good laugh. It was an easy way to ride in style with little effort. It also helped that he lived in Atlanta, and as far as he knew, she lived in L.A. so she never had to run the risk of running into him on the streets.
Once inside of the truck she popped in an old school Teena Marie CD then called Tyse and began to get perturbed when she got his voice mail.
“Hey Tyse, its Di, I am heading your way, call me and let me know what’s up. If I don’t hear from you by the time I get in your area don’t bother calling, as a matter of fact I will be gracious and give you until 8pm.” Click.
She didn’t have time for more of his games. Granted she did have a good time when she went out with him but the games had far outweighed the good times. He was lots of fun, not so much because he had a great personality, but because he pulled all of the stops to make sure that she was having an enjoyable experience.
For Di, the basic requirements of an enjoyable experience included having all of the men drooling and all of the women jealous wherever she went. This was always the case when she went out with Tyse because he was extremely flashy and loved the attention just as much if not more than she did.
His looks were decent so aside from the fact that he was three inches shorter than her, his presence was tolerable. Besides, good looks were not necessarily a requirement to win Di’s time. For her, it was more about how the bankroll was looking.
So, even more important than the fun and the looks was the fact that he spent lots of money on her, but his inconsistency was beginning to become an annoyance.
She did not appreciate getting stood up. Who did he think he was? Did he realize how many men would have loved to spend this time with her? As she neared his street she had come to the conclusion that she was indeed being stood up. She passed right by his street because she would never stoop to the level of being pressed enough to drive by his house.
One of the few things that her mother taught her, that actually made sense, was never to pop up over anyone’s house uninvited or without calling first. Not only was it rude to the person receiving the surprise visit, but the surprise visitor has now left him or herself open to getting the same type of unpleasant surprise as well. A surprise such as realizing that they are being played because the person that they are visiting is already entertaining company.
It also opened up room for the false notion that they had the right to do the same thing and there was no way she was relinquishing her right to uninterrupted privacy. She stood by these beliefs firmly and it went both ways. All of her men knew that if they ever popped up over her place unannounced they would get thoroughly cussed out and quickly dropped.
She started to turn around, go back home and continue watching her Sex in the City DVD, but then she decided that she would treat herself to dinner. She was already looking good and she was not about to waste this cute outfit, hairdo, and fresh set of false eyelashes on a night at home alone. She was also motivated by the fact that there were always a ton of fine single men with lots of money at The Good Times Grill on Friday nights.
When she got there the place was packed. She took a moment to admire her favorite work of art, The Good Times Mural with all of the exaggeratedly curvaceous women and their male counterparts having a funky good time on the dance floor. It was mounted at the entrance of the restaurant and surrounded by soft accent lighting. She took a deep breath and rotated her neck to release the unnecessary frustration and tension that Tyse had caused.
After running her fingers through her freshly pressed mane, she held her head up high and strutted through the crowd with a walk that she knew would turn every head that she passed. As she made her way through the narrow walkway near the bar she made it a point to “accidentally” brush her chest and behind up against every fine man whose path she crossed, being sure to place a dainty hand someplace on their body accompanied by a coy yet innocent, “Oh, excuse me.” She knew exactly what she was doing. She left every single man that she passed with something to think about.
Even the women couldn’t help but stare. The secure ones looked on in awe of her undeniable beauty and the ones with low self-esteem might as well have been wearing green contact lenses to match their envious glares. Those who where with their men either held them a little tighter or looked at them to see if they were looking at her. They were looking, and those who weren’t just happened to be seated with their back to the door so they hadn’t seen her yet. She would make sure to make a special trip to the bathroom so they would get a chance to see what all of the fuss was about.
She found a single chair to squeeze into at the bar between an older man and two girlfriends who were cackling and chatting away. She would have preferred to be surrounded by men but since this was the only seat open, it would have to do. She needed to be seated where the action was. A seat at a table or booth would not suffice. She had to be strategically placed where she could see and be seen.
She loved attention. She would have gotten it even if she was seated in a dark corner by the kitchen, but why not make it easy and obvious by situating herself in the place where she belonged…the center of attention.
As she waited for the bartender to acknowledge her presence she acted as if she was thoroughly engaged in the Piston’s basketball game that was showing on one of the many TV screens mounted above the bar. As she did this she felt the stares from around the room of men who were admiring her and wondering if she could really possibly be there alone.
For a brief moment she took her eyes away from the TV screen to scan the room. As she looked from face to face she made eye contact with several men who looked as if they wanted more. She made sure to linger a little on each one, batting her extended lashes, to give them the notion that they might have a chance with her.
Her visual flirting frenzy was interrupted when the bartender came to her and said,
“Hey sweetheart, my man over there in the Lions football jersey wants to know what you are drinking.” As the bartender awaited her response he gazed at her with a perceptive glance that let her know that he was well aware of all of the attention she had been getting.
“Chardonnay please.” She told him without hesitation.
“But only if it is a bottle that has been opened this evening.”
She didn’t want a bottle that was flat and flavorless because it had been opened days before. She smiled and made it a point to give him the same flirtatious eye contact that she had given the rest of the men in the room that were checking her out. He smiled as he turned away from the corked bottle that he was about to serve her from and reached into the wine refrigerator below the bar to open a fresh bottle for her. She winked to show her gratitude.
She wanted to make sure to play all of her cards right and keep all of her options open. During their brief dialogue she had taken note of the way the muscles that went from his neck to his shoulders were bulging beneath his polo styled work shirt. She had concluded that he was quite sexy indeed despite the fact that she knew that on a bartender’s salary he could never support the lifestyle she was accustomed to. She had to admit that she might be able to overlook his meager earnings because he could be useful in other ways…the bedroom in particular.
She knew from experience that men with money were not always guaranteed to have great sex. More often than not they used their money and material possessions to compensate for what they were lacking in the physical relations department, so she kept a few good men on the side to meet her needs. As long as they did not get attached, they were a welcomed treat. If she could find a man that had it going on in the bedroom and at the bank he might mess around and have her strung out!
She gave the man in the jersey a quick once over, even though she really didn’t care much about what anyone who wanted to buy her a drink looked like. She could always just take the drink and leave it at that. He was tall, with cashew colored skin, raw, not roasted, and cute enough, although she preferred chocolate over vanilla any day. She gave him a sultry smile to non-verbally thank him for the drink, which he mistakenly took as an invitation to come over and talk with her.
He made his way around the crowded bar over to the side where she was sitting. When he got close enough to her he put his arm on the bar between her and the people to her left dividing her from half of the bar. He territorially hovered over her whispering closely in her ear.
“How are you doing sweetheart?”
She was all too familiar with this behavior. He was putting the claim down on her. Men often did this to her when she was in a situation like the present one where most of the guys in the room were vying for her attention. The ones who were bold enough to approach her usually made some gesture to let the other guys in the room know that he had reigned victorious and claimed the treasure that everyone was out to get.
Whether they hovered over her, held her hand, or wrapped an arm around her shoulder she was equally irritated by all of the signals. Even worse was the arm around the waist or the hand at the small of her back that would always predictably slide a little too close to her behind. She only wanted to appear to be hemmed up if it was by her own choice, not by some buster who needed an ego boost.
She inconspicuously backed away from him as far as she could without sitting in the lap of the older guy next to her. When she could not possibly move any farther she reared her head and neck back making it clear to him how important her personal space was to her. Unlike most dudes he got the picture and backed up a bit.
“Check this out, my name is Solomon and I’m about to get up out of here to go and check out this cabaret. I saw you over here looking real nice and I was just wondering if I could take you to brunch at Sweet Georgia Brown’s tomorrow?” The sound of Sweet Georgia Brown’s rang in her ear like gold coins being shifted in a treasure chest. She knew that a man who could take her to eat at a place like that had to have some money.
She flashed her sexy smile and grazed her hand over the surface of his belt until she reached his phone case. She slid the phone out, programmed her name and number in, and replaced it in under two minutes flat. She chose to do it this way for two reasons. First, she knew that suggestively tracing his belt the way that she did would turn him on and leave him with something to think about. Second, she programmed her number in his phone below the bar so that it was out of sight of any other suitors that approached her with desirable offers that night. Dionysus was always on top of her game.
After he left it was like he’d caused a domino effect because glass after glass of Chardonnay began to be sent over to her by several men around the room. The sexy bartender even slid her a glass, on the house, making sure that she knew it was from him. After her sixth glass she was beginning to feel really good. The normal woman her size would have been wasted after the second glass, but she drank everyday so she had built up quite the tolerance.
She was laughing, talking and mingling without even having to leave her seat at the bar. It was as if men were lined up and patiently waiting their turn to entertain her. As one would leave another would approach soon after.
At the peak of her enjoyment, who else but Tyse, came strolling in, headed her way. She quickly glanced at the digital time display on her cell phone and took note that he was two hours, 37 minutes and 56 seconds late. He was about to get a rude awakening because no one played her like that without feeling her wrath.
He came prancing over like nothing had ever happened, just like it was still 8pm and their date was just beginning. He took note of all of the drinks and empty glasses in front of her as well as all of the attention that she was getting from the guys. Once he took in the entire scene he decided that he was about to put the claim down on her really heavy. He wrapped both arms around her from the back, constricting her arms and putting her in a position of powerlessness that she absolutely abhorred.
He then began kissing on her face and her neck. At this point she was buzzing so hard that she didn’t attempt to be inconspicuous or elegant about her behavior. He was not about to come up in here and mess up the good vibe that she had going after standing her up.
She yanked her body away from him like the saliva from his kisses was acid burning her face. She did it so abruptly and thoroughly that she knocked over one of her glasses of wine and spilled it on the person next to her. Luckily the two girls that were sitting there were gone or there might have been a fight. In their place were two guys in their late thirties.
She turned to the man that was wearing her wine and began apologizing profusely while simultaneously taking in his looks, clothing and watch. Instantly she made the decision that she would use him to complete her task of letting Tyse have it. Completely turning her back on Tyse she gave her undivided attention to the man that she had spilled her drink on.
“Ooh baby, I am soooo sorry. Here let me get that for you.” She said while gingerly wiping every drop of wine from her new pawn’s clothing with a napkin. She spent a little extra time tending to his lap and crotch area for good measure. He seemed to be quite satisfied with the fact that this beautiful young thang was touching him all over. He responded by saying,
“Its cool sugar, let me buy you another drink, what was that you were drinking on?”
She sensed Tyse’s presence and could have sworn she felt the heat from his rising anger on the back of her neck. Without turning around she knew that he was still right behind her so she decided to lay it on even more thickly.
“I was drinking on Chardonnay, but I feel so bad. You are looking all nice and I had to go and mess that up. Let me make it up to you. I can pay for your dry cleaning or something. As a matter of fact, here, take my number and you can call me and let me know what I can do to make it up to you.” She said laced with a taste of flirtation and a pinch of seduction. She winked at him to seal the deal. Checkmate!
This time there was no mistaking it. She could really feel the heat from Tyse and knew that he was seething because she had given another man her number right in his face. Even though he was sitting down she could tell that the man she was flirting with was well over six feet tall. He spoke to her with a confidence that made it seem as if Tyse didn’t even exist. With his 5’5 frame devoid of any substantial muscle tone Tyse was no match for this older man.
He walked away with his head down but that did not stop her from seeing the anger and defeat in his eyes. He stood on the other side of the room and stared at her like a wounded puppy dog that had just lost a fight with a pit bull. She looked at him with a sly smile and a devilish glare and said out loud to no one in particular,
“Cross my path, and you WILL feel my wrath.”
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