Page 5 of Breeze and Melodie

I groaned when my alarm sounded and quickly reached for my phone. However, not only was I wrapped in a set of strong arms, but the soreness in my body stilled my movements. Initially, I didn’t recall what caused the soreness, but then I yawned, and the pain in my face jogged my memory.

The alarm was silenced, and a set of lips kissed my forehead. I managed to smile when I thought about how Breeze had come to my rescue last night, but I had no idea how he ended up in my bed.

“Good morning. What are you doing here?”

“You asked me to stay.”

“I did?”

“You don’t remember?”

“I don’t, actually, but thank you for staying.”

“How do you feel?”

“My face and body are sore.”

“Maybe you should stay home today and chill.”

“Why?”

“You’ll have to explain your bruises.”

“I don’t have anything to be ashamed of. He’s the one who should be embarrassed.”

“He should be, but niggas like him and the people they surround themselves with don’t think anything is wrong with what happened.”

“It’s our second day of business in the new building. I’m going to work.”

“Suit yourself. It was just a suggestion. I need to get going. You good?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. What time is it?”

“A little after seven.”

“What? That must have been your alarm because mine is set for eight-thirty.”

“I work out almost every morning. I’ll see you in a few hours. Let me know if you need anything before then.”

He pressed his lips against my forehead again and slid out of bed.

I watched his naked back as he walked away, wishing he would come back and fuck me senseless.

Since I was awake, I decided to get out of bed and straighten up the mess Sean and I had made during our tussle.

As soon as I sat up to move to the edge of the bed, the soreness caused me to groan.

“Fuck!”

In all of my soon-to-be thirty-four years of life, I’d never gotten into a physical altercation with a man.

Not only was I shocked by Sean’s actions, but my feelings were hurt.

Our relationship wasn’t the greatest, but at one point, I thought we could have something special.

For him to put his hands on me out of anger blew my mind, and I hoped he knew our relationship was over.

After straightening up my apartment, I showered and prepared for the rest of my day.

I dressed in jeans and a fitted graphic tee and would wear a pair of comfortable gym shoes.

I looked in the mirror and noticed the golden-brown skin underneath my eye was purple.

The swelling made it look worse than it felt.

One side of my lip was also bruised and swollen, but it didn’t look as bad as my eye.

I applied more makeup than I normally would in an effort to conceal my blackened eye, but there wasn’t a lot I could do for my lip. Every lip color I applied made the swelling more noticeable, so I opted for a clear gloss.

On the way to the spa, I called Raine to update her about the past twelve hours. If she saw my face with no warning, she’d be ready to throw blows, so I had to give her a heads-up.

“What’s up, sis? You running late?”

“No, I’m on my way.”

“Oh, okay. Is everything good?”

“They are now, thanks to Breeze.”

“Mel, what are you talking about?”

“After we left the Black Reign last night, Breeze asked me to meet him for dinner.”

“Really? Why? Did something happen between y’all?”

“Slow down, Raine. Nothing happened.”

I proceeded to share the details of the night before, starting with the dinner I had with her brother up until he left my apartment this morning. She interrupted several times, so I was in the parking lot of Black Reign by the time I finished.

“He better hope I don’t run into him because it’s on sight. I don’t care if it’s today, tomorrow, or next year. Sean is?—”

“Calm down, Raine. You know damn well Shyne and Breeze won’t let you be out here fighting. Besides, I got in a few good licks, and Breeze took care of the rest. I’m on my way inside, but the point of this phone call was to warn you about my black eye and busted lip.”

“Your what? Oh hell?—”

I ended the call because I knew my friend was about to go off on another angry tangent. When I approached the building a few minutes later, I saw Raine waiting at the door.

“Before I take these shades off, I need you to take a few deep breaths.”

“Nah, that won’t help because those shades ain’t covering your lip. Let me see your eye.”

I sighed as I took off the shades. “See, it’s not that bad.”

“Melodie, please tell me Breeze beat the shit out of him.”

“Your brother did what needed to be done. I shouldn’t have any more problems with Sean. He is now a thing of the past.”

“He’d better be. I can’t believe he switched up on you like that. Did you have any idea he was one of them niggas who hit women?”

“Hell no! You know I don’t play that shit. Wait until I tell my Daddy.”

“Oh hell, Daddy Norwood gon’ fuck him up if he ever sees him again.”

“No, seriously. I’d better have bail money ready because there will be no stopping him.”

Raine made me sit at her station to examine my eye more closely. By the time the rest of the staff arrived, you could barely tell I had a black eye. However, we were a close-knit group, so I shared the whole ordeal with them.

I only had two clients scheduled for the morning, and by midafternoon, I was on the other side of the building teaching a class. When it ended and the students had left, Breeze stood near the door.

“What’s up?” I asked since he didn’t say anything.

“You good?”

“I am. Thank you again for coming to my rescue.”

“You don’t have to keep thanking me. C’mere.”

I stopped what I was in the middle of and approached him. He slipped his finger under my chin and tilted my head back.

“I’m fine, Breeze.”

“Did you ever ice it?”

“No, but the swelling is going down.”

“Not enough. Come with me.”

“I said I’m fine.”

He was already headed toward the door and turned around. The look on his face let me know he was serious. “Melodie, you gon’ learn to stop fighting me at every turn. When I tell you to do something, it’s not up for debate. Bring your ass with me.”

My mouth popped open, but nothing came out. He didn’t wait for me to agree, so I shouldn’t have been surprised when he grabbed my hand and pulled me down the hallway. We ended up in our kitchen/break room, where he prepared two small bags of ice for me, wrapping them in a few paper towels.

“But my makeup.”

“Fuck that makeup, Mel. You wouldn’t need that shit if his bitch-ass had kept his hands to himself. Sit down.”

He’d made it clear not to go back and forth with him, so I sat my ass down and put the ice on my eye and lip. I didn’t realize how tender both areas were until I applied pressure.

“Ow.”

“See. I should’ve made sure you iced before I left this morning. Have you heard from him?”

“Hell no!” My words were muffled because of the ice bag.

“I thought he might have called to apologize. That’s what they do. If he does, you?—”

“Breeze, you don’t have to tell me what to do. I’m done with Sean. My parents didn’t raise a punching bag.”

“I hear you. Now, put the ice back on your mouth and leave it there for at least fifteen minutes.”

He sat across from me and played on his phone while I iced. When my fifteen minutes were up, he stood and gently removed the bags from my hands. Again, he used his index finger to lift my chin, and I watched as he inspected my injuries.

As his eyes zeroed in on my mouth, his tongue slipped from his and slowly slid over his bottom lip. My stomach tightened when I noticed his face getting closer to mine. My eyes closed as I anticipated our lips connecting, and when they did, my entire body shivered.

It was short but oh so sweet, and I enjoyed every millisecond. When I opened my eyes, he still held my chin between his index finger and thumb, with his face hovering above mine.

“Make sure you ice both areas a few times tonight.”

He walked away and disappeared before I could question his actions.

“What was that about?” I whispered as I touched my lips.