For The Life of You Ch. 02

Shit fuck! This is such a "Waiting To Exhale" moment. Blu anticipated hearing some random woman voice coming from far away, saying, "Lionel," Or whatever the man's name was. Oh for fuck's sake. She didn't even know that man's name. "You haven't danced with me all night." A heart beat went by. Then two, then three. The voice never came, and Blu actually exhaled.

Aaliyah's voice gently faded away and Justin knew his time with her was over. Her nails lightly scraped the back of his neck as he slowly pulled away from her. Damn, but he didn't want to give her up. He took both her hands in his, looked into her eyes and was once again lost.

He searched for something clever to say, but he was drawing a blank. So he just squeezed her hands for a second, released them and then pushed his way through the group of people that had gathered to watch them dance. He headed down the hall, past the bathrooms, and out the back door.

Blu stood there stunned. What the fuck was that? Get me all excited and then just up and fucking leave? She'd never had that happen to her before. She was the one who walked away, not the other way around.

James came and stood beside her. He lit a cigarette and handed it to her. They both stared down the hall at the back door. He slid his arm around Blu's waist.

"What was that all about?"

"Fuck if I know." She shook her head and took a puff.

"Excuse me."

They both turned to see a tall beautiful woman dressed in red looking at them. She had an irritated look in her eyes and a man's coat slung over her right arm, her left hand holding it in place. Blu flinched when she caught the flash of a diamond wedding ring.

"The man you were dancing with, do you know where he disappeared to?"

Blu's mouth dropped open and her eyebrows shot up. For real? He's married? She let out a rueful chuckle. And there you have it. That "Waiting To Exhale" moment came. Son of a bitch. Blu didn't say a word, but simply pointed at the exit door before turning on her heel to walk back to her table, James following close behind.

"Ladies, it's time for me to call it a night." She said as she grabbed her coat off the back of her chair. James quietly took the coat, helped her put it on and then went to pay the bill. Blu plucked up her lighter and cigarettes and tossed them into her bag before slinging it over her left shoulder.

Krista wanted to say something to her Auntie, but she was at a loss for words. In all her years of knowing Blu, she'd never seen her react to a man the way she did. She actually relaxed. And then to find out the man was married? Krista ached inside.

Blu saw that Krista was going to say something and she held up her hand to silence any apologies that were forth coming. A soft enigmatic smile played across her lips, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. "You two have a good night. I'm headed for bed."

Krista wanted to protest, but she knew there was no point. Blu was done and nothing she could say would get her to stay. So she said nothing as she watched Blu make her way to the front of the pub. James caught up with her at the door and escorted her out into the night. So much for a happy Valentine's.

JAMES CASUALLY WRAPPED an arm around Blu's waist, pulling her close to him as they made their way across the street and up the hill toward Blu's house. Blu hadn't said anything after leaving the pub, and James wisely kept quiet. Leaving Blu to her thoughts and giving her time to process what had just happened. He never would have guessed that the guy would walk out on her. That was a shocker. If anything, James had expected the man to try an make a move on her.

The tapping sounds of their shoes on the pavement bounced off the cement walls of the short alley that lead into the back yard of Blu's house. When they reached the back door she opened her bag. Her eyebrows drew together as she dug around, searching for her house keys. In her rush to get down to the pub, she'd forgotten to turn on the porch light. Not that it mattered. The moon shone bright enough, bathing both of them in its cold light, its cool fingers caressing her cheeks.

The keys made a dull clinking sound as her fingers curled around them and she held them in her hand for a split second before picking out the right one, sliding it in the lock, twisting it and heard to tumblers disengage. She could feel James' hand on the small of her back as she pushed the door open and stepped into the house.

James followed her in, but she put a hand on his chest to stop him from getting too far. Her fingers closed around the lapel of his leather coat. For a brief moment, she just stared at her hand while she stroked the collar with her thumb. James looked down at her. He searched her face for some sign of what she was feeling, but he got nothing. She was a complete blank. He sighed and gathered her in his arms.

Blu allowed him to pull her close and snuggled her face into his chest. Bless him for not asking if she was okay, because she wasn't sure if she could give him a proper answer. She knew she wasn't mad, nor was she hurt. As a matter of fact, she wasn't feeling anything. She knew that James needed to hear something or he wouldn't leave her alone. He needed to be reassured that she was okay.

"I'm fine, James." She said quietly.

She heard him swallow, felt his arms tighten around her, but remained silent.

"He just confirmed that there's no such thing as a knight in shining armor. No Prince Charming. And that Valentine's Day, sucks balls." She didn't sound bitter or hurt. It was just a statement of fact.

James chuckled and cupped her face in his hands. That was his Blu, nothing kept her down for long. Still, he searched her eyes for any signs of hurt or anger but found none. He brushed his lips across her forehead.

"You know I love you, right?"

"Yeah, right back at you, bub." She extracted herself from his arms. "I'm going to take a shower, grab my ice cream, and call it a night."

James knew that was her way of telling him he was not spending the night and he accepted it.

"I'll leave you to it, then." He quickly pressed his lips against hers before heading out the door, through the back yard and down the alley to his car.

Blu quietly closed the back door, tossed her keys and bag on the kitchen counter. She toed off her heels, walked around the counter to throw her coat over the kitchen chair before making her way into the bathroom to turn on the shower. She padded into her bedroom, stripped down and then grabbed a camisole and a pair of panties from the dresser. She didn't really need to take another shower, but she did anyway.

She slipped on her camisole and panties, shrugged into her ratty robe, went into the kitchen, grabbed a spoon from silverware drawer and the mint chocolate chip ice cream from the freezer. She selected "The Divine Weapon" from her vast collection of movies before going back through the bathroom and into her bedroom.

She turned on the T.V., the DVD player, popped in the movie, and snatched up the remote. She placed her ice cream on the night stand next to her still unmade bed and climbed in. Once she got herself situated, she pressed play on the remote, picked her spoon, opened the carton of ice cream and began to watch the movie.

Half way through the opening credits, she realized that she'd left her cigarettes and lighter in her bag, which was sitting on the kitchen counter. Shit fuck! Now that she was all tucked in, did she really want to get out of bed just for a cancer stick? She knew she wouldn't be able to enjoy the movie if she didn't get them.

She made a noise in her throat as she threw back the covers. Luckily the credits were flashing against a black background so she didn't have to pause the movie. She stepped over her new clothes she'd left on the floor and hurried into the kitchen to get her cigarettes and lighter.

Layla would slit her throat if she saw the crumpled pile. The thought gave her pause, but then Blu shrugged her shoulders and stepped over the heap again. She'd pick them up in the morning. What Layla didn't know, didn't hurt Blu. She tossed the cigarettes and lighter on the night stand and crawled back into bed. The movie was just starting as she snatched up her spoon and dug into the carton.

Blu had just polished off the last of her ice cream and was reaching for her cigarettes, her eyes skimming over the subtitles at the bottom of the screen. The heroine of the movie, a beautiful young Korean woman was gently reprimanding the hero for being over emotional about a close friend being put to death. The setting was at night and only the lights from a house a short distance away illuminated them.

The hero was sweating and breathing hard, a sword in hand. He had been slashing bamboo poles trying to release his anguish when she interrupted him.

"You disturb me, lady."

"If you're disturbed because of me, than you're not a master warrior. A master warrior should not be shaken by anything."

"I guess there is no woman steadfast like you. You will not be shaken no matter what." His voice sounded bitter and he stalked away. He didn't see that his words really hurt her. She stood there, her eyes filled with tears as she looked out into the dark, tall and proud. Her voice was soft and lyrical.

As Blu read the subtitles that scrolled across the bottom, her hand dropped to the top of the comforter. The cigarettes forgotten.

"Though I'm afraid, I must pretend I'm not. Though I'm lonely, I must pretend I'm not."

Blu didn't hear the rest. She closed her eyes. Her throat thickened and she felt an overwhelming tightness in her chest. She turned onto her side, wrapped her arms around her pillow and buried her face in it. A single tear trickled over the bridge of her nose to stain the case underneath her cheek.