Before I Die

After swinging by the club to check on shit and go through some applications and interviews with Erika—successfully hiring several new people—I go by my place to grab some clothes, as well as Nevaeh’s purse. Reaching into her purse, I pull her cell phone out and turn it on. It comes to life, but the battery indicates it’s just about dead. Before it dies, I go through the missed calls and texts that pop up. There’s a missed call from her mom, and one from Blaire, but no voicemails. Clicking into her messages, I find one from Blaire, mentioning that she’s staying with her boyfriend longer than she planned. The next one is asking why she’s not at work. Apparently Nevaeh’s mom called Blaire and told her Nevaeh never showed up for work, so now she’s worried. I shoot her back a text, giving her the excuse of taking a last minute vacation, like we discussed.

The next set of texts are from Gerald, the asshole I met at the club.

Gerald: I can’t believe you are with that guy.

Gerald: I know you didn’t cheat on me. You’re too good for that.

Gerald: Did you have sex with him?

Gerald: I waited for you for two years and got nothing! Such a damn tease.

The texts continue, getting angrier the longer she doesn’t respond, and something snaps in me, wanting to defend this woman. He thinks she’s a tease and a cheater because of me. I went off at the mouth that night not knowing she’s a virgin. I had no idea just how good of a person she is. I’m about to text him back, admitting I lied, when I see a text from him calling her a whore. My anger gets the best of me, and I shoot back a message telling him to go fuck himself then block his ass from her phone. What the hell was such a wholesome woman like Nevaeh doing with an asshole like that guy?

I delete the entire conversation.

There’s a few more texts from her mom and principal asking where she is and if she’s okay, but I ignore those. She can deal with them when I give her back her phone. I throw it back into her purse and head over to her apartment. It’s about fifteen minutes from my place, over in Pleasantville. I find her unit number and am about to break in when I remember I have her purse, which means I have her keys.

Her home is small but homey. There are pictures of her and some woman scattered all over. It must be her friend and roommate, Blaire. When I open the first door, the room is neat, bed made, and there’s a cross hanging over the bed. This must be Nevaeh’s room. But just to be sure, I open the door to the other room. It’s messy, clothes littered all over the floor, and when I open the nightstand I find a vibrator and a box of condoms. Definitely not Nevaeh’s room.

Closing the drawer, I go back to the first room and find a piece of luggage in her closet. I start pulling a few outfits off the hangers then head to her drawers to find her bras and underwear. I chuckle as I grab her underwear, noticing how sexy they are, very unlike my Angel. Shit. Did I just refer to her as mine? There are tons of cotton as well, but mostly lace and satin. Several sets of silks. When I reach into the back, thoroughly enjoying this more than I should be, I spot a bra and panty set that has my dick hardening. Sheer white lace bra with a matching G-string. This gives a whole new meaning to the word Angel. Throwing it into the luggage with all the rest, I imagine the cute pink her cheeks will turn when she puts it together that I saw all this.

Just as I’m about to close the drawer, I spot a folded-up piece of paper in the back corner. Curiosity gets the best of me, and I set the luggage down so I can unfold the paper. It’s a list of some sort. I find myself smiling when I read the title: Things I want to do before I die

Get married

Get a tattoo

Go skydiving

Learn to play cards

Make love somewhere crazy (after I’m married)

Go to a club

Get drunk

Kiss a stranger

Go on a mission trip

Travel to another country for fun

Swim with the sharks (or maybe the dolphins?)

Ride in a hot air balloon

Get a piercing somewhere other than my ears

Dance in the rain

Get kissed in the rain

Tell mom how I really feel

Smoke weed (ask Stephen)

Make a difference in someone’s life

Go skinny-dipping

Have a baby

Learn to shoot a gun (ask Stephen)

Give blood

So, Nevaeh has a wild side that’s itching to come out. I read through the list, laughing at some of the items. Smoke weed. Ha! What I wouldn’t give to see her high. I’m one hundred percent against drugs, but getting to watch Nevaeh get high would be quite an experience. Of course, most of the items she’s crossed off are the do-gooder ones like giving blood. But I also notice she crossed off a couple others like Kiss a stranger. I wonder if I was the stranger she kissed. I had to have been. There’s no way she would have had the guts to kiss more than one stranger, right?