Friend-Zoned (Friend-Zoned 1)

As soon as the door opens, Omarr has his gun on me. He’s standing behind Tina, who is taped to a chair. I look into her eyes and see fear, clear as day.

Don’t worry, baby.

Omarr smiles, steps forward and announces theatrically, “The man of the hour! Take a seat, Nik. We’ve been waitin’ on you. Haven’t we, baby?”

Tina shrugs and makes a confused face. It’s genuine.

See?

Omarr is bat shit crazy.

I walk forward and ask, “Where do you want me?”

Omarr points to the chair next to Tina and says, “Try any funny business, I’ll shoot you and make her watch you die. ”

I sit in the chair and he straps me into it with duct tape tightly. Omarr glares at me for a moment before turning to Tina. He says, “Okay, baby. You got some explaining to do. How did Uncle Jerm get our conversation?”

She stammers and lies “N—Nik bugged my room, sweetie. I had no idea he didn’t trust me. I’m so sorry. He sent the tape to Uncle Jerm. I came here as soon as I found out and told him it was a fake. He believed me, baby. ”

Good girl. Play along.

Omarr looks sympathetic and sighs, “I knew it. I knew you wouldn’t give me up. ” He strokes her face lovingly and states, “You love me. You wouldn’t do that to me. ”

And one flew over the cuckoo’s nest.

I clear my throat and shoot a hard look Tina’s way. I lie saying, “You gold digging whore. I knew I couldn’t trust you. You think that was the only bug? I had ‘em everywhere. The only reason I kept you around was because I like the way you suck cock. ”

Tina scowls at me and hisses, “Omarr, let me out of this chair or so help me…I’ll leave you. ”

Omarr’s eyes widen and he shouts, “No! You’re never leaving me!”

Tina puts on her best bitch and retorts, “Let me out of the fucking chair, Omarr!”

Omarr’s brow furrow and he sighs, “Okay, jeez, Tina. Don’t be such a bitch. ”

He cuts the tape off her wrists and helps her up. As soon as she stands, she slaps him. Hard. The noise echoes through the warehouse and he rubs his cheek. He blurts, “What the fuck was that for, Tina?!”

She blinks a second then gets in his face and roars, “You kept me tied to a chair all fucking day! That’s not how you treat someone you love, O. That’s how you treat someone you don’t like! Now, do you love me?” He looks properly chastened and nods. She says calmly, “Good. Then you’ll never do that again. Will you, sweetie?” He shakes his head and she goes on, “Good. I love you, baby. But you’re seriously fucked up. I’m going to make you better, you hear?” He nods and smiles at her with pure adoration.

I’ve never seen Omarr let a woman put her hands on him without disappearing and turning up in landfill weeks later. He truly thinks he loves Tina. Or loves the idea of her at least.

Tina stands behind Omarr and wraps her arms around his waist.

Wow, that hurts more than it should. I know she’s only playing.

She stands on her tiptoes and whispers loudly, “Look at his face, baby. Doesn’t matter how much he says otherwise, this is hurting him. He loved me, O. I promised we’d hurt him, didn’t I?” She mouths to me I’m sorry.

Omarr chuckles and rubs Tina’s arm. He boasts, “Yeah, I got your girl. How does it feel to lose something you love, Nik? She don’t want you. ”

Tina whines, “Omarr, how long is this going to take? I want to go home. I smell and I need a shower real bad. ” She pouts, “You haven’t even fed me today. I’m so hungry, baby. ”

Omarr slaps his head and sucks in air through his teeth. He looks remorseful as he promises, “Shit, I’m sorry, baby. I’ve been so caught up in this I didn’t even ask if you were hungry. I’ll get one of the guys to get you something right now. ”

If I weren’t in this situation I would burst into laughter. The Tina Omarr believes he’s in love with doesn’t exist. This is the complete opposite of what my Tina is. I don’t like this Tina but Omarr seems enraptured with her.

He turns in her arms and lifts her. She yelps and forces a giggle. She demands, “Omarr, put me down!” Which he does, but not before he kisses her.

Omarr closes his eyes and plants a deep kiss on Tina. Her eyes widen and she looks at me, I can’t conceal the look of disgust on my face. Her eyes are apologetic and I nod. I know she doesn’t want to be here anymore than I do.