If you let me, here's what I'll do

She's been avoiding me.

It's been almost a week since the club and I've barely seen her.

Every time I tried to visit Allaya in her office, she conveniently was out running errands. Whenever I tried to spend some time with her in the penthouse, it was either she wasn't home or she was sleeping.

I've tried to text her but if it wasn't about work then she short answered me and now, well now she's pissin me off.

I thought I made myself clear that night in the club. I was interested in her and now she actin different.

Shit. She got me pressed ova her ass when I could have any woman I want.

But instead of calling one of them, I dialed her best friend's number to see if she knew what was up. Bri gave me her number at the club and made it clear that it was for Allaya emergencies only. The girl was crazy but she looked out for her friend.

Look at you East, trippin ova a broad who don't want you.

"Hello? This is Brielle Johnson speaking and how did you get this number?"

"This is East, Dave East - Laya's boss"

"Ohmygod is Laya okay? Where is she? Do I need to go to a hospital or do I need to bring bail money....well which is it?!", she shouted in the phone.

I pulled it away from my ear and chuckled quietly to myself, like I said the girl was crazy.

"Nah she's fine. I just needed to talk to you about her."

"Oh well why didn't you say so. Next time start with that. Wheww I almost started crying. What's the problem with Laya, y'all finally stop playing?"

"Yeah somethin like that, but now she ain't talkin to me. I was wondering if you knew what was up."

"I can't believe that bitch didn't tell me"

She sighed in the phone then began.

"East you should probably know by now that Laya doesn't like to burden people with her problems. So if you ask her what's wrong, she'll probably say nothing and manipulate the conversation to be about you. She's weird like that. She's too damn hard headed and she don't like people worrying about her."

"Yeah that shit I already knew, but I was hoping you knew something more specific"

"Fine. And you didn't hear this from me, but from what she briefly texted me over this week, she's been stressed about school as some other shit."

Bri went on to tell me everything that was going on with Laya.

"I don't think she's deliberately avoiding you, she just closes herself off when she's busy. I'm surprised she even took the time to tell me what was goin on with her. But she'll be better as soon as she gets herself together."

Laya deserved the benefit of the doubt. But since she was stressed, I wanted to do something nice for her. Bri gave me a few ideas and I called some of my hookups to make sure everything was all good for her today.

I sat in Dave's private studio typing my life away on my computer. I had an essay due at 11:59 tonight and I was just about three pages away from being finished. This was the only place I could get some privacy from everyone else.

Go to grad school they said. People with a graduate degree get paid more they said. No,fuck this shit! It's a scam.

I haven't slept in almost three days and I looked homeless. I had almost bitten my nails to nubs because of stress, and my hair was an uncombed curly nest askew on my head. My outfit of the day consisted of a faded graphic tee and ripped jeans. Thank God I managed to put on a matching pair of shoes this morning before running out of the house to set up for an early morning session.

I heard the door rattling and Dave walked inside wearing a stretched white shirt and a baseball cap with his braids peeking through.

"Hey, did you need something?", I asked while clearing my papers from he chair.

"I didn't mean to take over your studio. I can leave now if you have a session."

"Nah that's cool. You good. You been ignoring me the whole week and I came in here to look for you" he sauntered towards me.

I felt like complete and utter shit. He was being so nice to me and I was avoiding him, not entirely on purpose though. It's just with all this going on, I didn't have time to sort through my feelings about him and where I wanted us to go.

Wait was there even an us?

He sat down beside me and kicked his Air Force covered feet up on the table. We always seemed to end up on a couch.

Dave's presence made me feel safe and secure. And I felt obligated to give him an explanation.

"This week just has been a tough one for me. My grad program is intense and I have a major project to complete by Monday and two midterms next week. Then things are always busy between studio work and your schedule. Also my brother won't stop fucking calling me and I really don't wanna deal with him."

I felt so strange telling him about my issues. They weren't anything that I couldn't fix myself.

What I didn't tell him was that financial aid called and told me that they'd have to decrease my payment plan because of some new bullshit rule. So now instead of the five months I had left to pay, I was down to fucking two.

I didn't need anyone feeling sorry for me, I was more than capable of saving myself.

"I'm stressed and if I hear another notification come through on my phone I just might burst into tears." I expressed laughing.

He looked at me with soft eyes and pushed the hair that had fallen on my forehead, out of my face.

"What can I do to make it better?" he asked sincerely.

For the first time in a week, I smiled. I closed my laptop and shifted to face him.

"You can just talk to me. I need to take a break anyway and some human interaction would be nice." I shrugged.

A smile appeared on his face and he pulled my body onto his lap, knocking my books off of the table in the process. My back faced the arm of the chair and my legs were thrown over his.

"You have to stop picking me up like I'm some small puppy or something", I grumbled while trying to put some space between us.

"Ion gotta do shit. And stop moving before we have a repeat of that night at the club."

I stopped moving and rolled my eyes at him.

"Now ask me whatever you want." I told him.

And at eleven o' clock on a Thursday morning, I was sitting on my boss's lap playing 21 questions. It was the most heart warming thing I'd ever done with a man.

"Aight I see you, so what's your favorite song by me?" he returned by licking his lips.

I laughed lightly to myself trying to find the best way to word my answer.

"Truth be told I only started listening to your music like a month ago. But don't take it personally I'm not big on new school rap. I do love your song Keisha though. It tells a story and I was definitely able to picture it in my head. That's my favorite thing about hip hop, the stories conveyed through music." I answered earnestly.

He laughed and replied, " You sound like you a textbook or sumn. So what do you listen to if you don't like rap?"

I looked over my shoulder at him, "I never said that I didn't like rap and I thought it was my turn to ask"

He sucked his teeth and said, "Nope this a follow up question ma, so answer me."

I snuggled back into him, getting comfortable. I still can't believe I was getting this close to him. He now knew things about me that it even Bri or Nene knew, like my relationship with my father.

"As cliché as it sounds, coming from an island gyal...reggae music has my heart. I probably know every song, from every era, from every sub genre of reggae. You know there's 70's and 80's roots reggae and then you have 90's dancehall and new school raw dancehall. I love it all", I beamed getting excited.

Reggae music was my one of my first loves. It was the one thing that brought me and my daddy together. I remember driving in his Mercedes on Sunday afternoons jamming to old favorites on the way to the ice cream shop.

"I wouldn't have expected that, I thought you was gon say something about r&b or some shit. You look like one of them Beyonce fans."

I laughed at him and his grip around my waist tightened.

"I am a Beyoncé fan and that should not be a problem either." I chuckled.

"What's your favorite reggae song?" he asked

Hmm this was a hard one. If he asked for my top 20 or maybe even 10, it would've been easier for me to answer. But to narrow it down to just one, was difficult.

"I mean if I had to choose one it would be Black Roses by Barrington Levy. It's orginally a song about weed but my mommy use to tell me that it was about black love. It's a beautiful song and when I listen to it, I feel at peace. It's hard to explain." I murmured, waving it off.

He pulled out his phone and began playing the song. I closed my eyes and relaxed as it brought me back to a place that I missed. Me and my mother, dancing on our patio under the moonlight, drinks in hand.

I didn't even realize that I was singing it word for word, until Dave's phone rang, cutting the music off.

"What nigga?!" he answered. He was always so mean to people and I couldn't understand why.

In no time he ended his call and was now texting rapidly on his phone. He leaned up from the couch and pulled me up onto my feet with him.

"Get yo bag out your office and let's go"

I looked at him confusingly.

"Let's go where? Don't you have a meeting later and I need to finish this paper so that I can..."

He stopped me by closing in the space between us.

"Stop asking so much questions Laya. Grab yo shit and meet me in the lobby in five minutes. If I have to come get your ass it ain't gonna be good.", he eyed me seductively.

He was always trying to threaten me. He may be my boss but I didn't have to do what he said.

"What you gonna do, spank me?", I eyed him as I picked up my things and headed for the studio door.

As I opened it, a hard slap hit my ass and I instantly placed my palm on it to soothe the stinging sensation. Dave leaned in my ear to whisper "I just might", before walking in front of me to the reception area.

"Is it bad that I wouldn't mind if he did it again?", I thought to myself.

/•/

I still didn't know where we were going but we were out of Harlem and in Upper Manhattan, primarily where all of the rich white people lived. He pulled up at what look to be a day spa.

He turned the car off, paid the meter then came around to open my door for me.

My, my, my, what a gentleman.

I was about to ask what we were doing here when he grabbed my hand and pulled me inside.

"You be askin too many damn questions and you gon ruin my plans for you if you do" he commented while his tattooed covered hand grasped mine.

I looked up at him and laughed at his frustration. He was adorable when he was trying to control me.

We reached the front desk and the receptionist instantly spread a sultry smile on her face.

"Mr. Brewster it's good to see you again."

"Yeah 2:00 appointment for Laya Daniels" he said dismissing her entirely.

I looked around the expensive spa and spoke lowly, "Um is this your way of telling me I look like crap and I need to get it together", I said jokingly.

But his face firmed up and he got serious, "No this is my way of showing you how much I appreciate you and all you do"

I was stunned. I didn't even know that I offered something to appreciate. There was nothing left to say but to follow the lady into the spa.

It was fancy as hell in here. I think this was the place where Bri and I have been trying to go to for years. But on top of it being super expensive, there was a long ass waitlist.

Actually now that I think about it, how did Dave get me an appointment? How was I going to pay for all this? And more importantly, how did he know that I always wanted to go here?

Brielle.

I was taking my phone out my pocket to text her, when a beautiful brown skin lady with short grey hair came up to me.

"Hi sweetheart, I'm Evelyn and I wanted to personally welcome you to our day spa."

My mouth hung open as the owner of NYC's most exclusive beauty spot spoke to me. She handed me a glass of champagne and led me to a private locker room.

"There's a cashmere robe and slippers in there for you dear and Robin will be your personal concierge. She'll be with you shortly to discuss your itinerary. Dave said that he had something to handle and he'd be back for you later."

Concierge? Itinerary? Ugh this was the life of luxury I deserved.

A few minutes later Robin came in and went over every service that I would be getting done. Who the fuck was paying for all this?

About six long hours later I had a new white full set, matching gel polished toes, the most relaxing facial ever and every inch of me was waxed, buffed and laminated. I even got my hair done and lash extensions.

Now I laid on the massage table receiving my last service for the day - a deep tissue massage with aromatherapy. The lights were dimmed, eucalyptus essential oil blew from the diffuser and Ricardo's large hands pressed in all of the right spots. I was biting my lip to keep from moaning out his name. This shit felt amazing. Usually I wouldn't be comfortable with a strange man touching me this way but Ricardo was very very very gay, and I mean that in the nicest way possible. Before the massage we struck up a conversation about him going to meet his boyfriend's parents and how he was afraid that the father would've been one on the down low straight guys he slept with.

"Okay now hun I'm gonna leave you here for 15 minutes to meditate, before Monica unwraps your hair and you put back on your clothes."

There were so many things in my mind to think about. So many things that I didn't feel like dealing with, so it was a matter of picking the least stressful subject.

My daddy issues? Nah that can wait. School problems? I have the rest of the weekend to deal with them. Dave? Yup that's the one I needed to meditate on.

I like him...a lot and I think it was safe to assume that he felt the same way about me. But I'm worried that I'm being naive. Also, there's the fact that we work together, and I don't want to ruin the friendship we already had. I knew how dirty breakups could be from Bri and Nene's experiences and I ain't in for dealing with that.

This was my first fling/relationship/encounter with the opposite sex and I was afraid I was giving up myself too easily. I felt so comfortable around him. He was so easy to talk to. He made me feel safe, wanted and valuable. Exploring things with him was something that I wanted. But why was it so hard to let him in completely?

Ricardo came back shortly with Monica. She unwrapped my hair and handed me a mirror to look at myself.

"Girl do you see how bomb you look", she gasped while fluffing out my hair.

"Right! Mr. tall, mean and handsome is a lucky man. I'd snatch you up myself if I wasn't afraid that he would kill me.", Ricardo noted.

"And there's also the fact that you have a boyfriend", Monica added.

I laughed at him and admired my hair in the mirror. This was my first time getting a silk press and my hair was shiny and bone straight. It was nice but I was kinda missing my natural hair already.

I walked out of the spa towards the reception area to pay. The receptionist from before looked up at me with confusion written on her face.

"Is there something else that you need Ms. Daniels?"

"No not at all. Everything was amazing. I just wanted to give you my credit card... you know for the bill" I said equally as confused as her.

"Oh that won't be necessary ma'am, your bill has already been taken care of, when your appointment was placed. You also have a standing appointment booked for every month this year. They've all been paid for as well. So if you could just tell me the date for your next appointment..."

I stared at her. No this nigga did not. I grabbed the spa brochure from the front desk and browsed over their services and prices. That one massage I got was $300 and the facial I had was pushing $250. Dave spent more than a grand on me today and he spent even more money on the rest them.

"Um do you mind cancelling the rest of those. I couldn't possibly take them."

"Ma'am I'm not authorized to do that. I was given strict instructions to make sure that these appointments stand. Now can I have a date for your next appointment please?" She said with a tight lipped smile.

I gave her a date and turned to head out the door. Dave stood leaning against his car with Evelyn standing in front of him.

He looked up from around her and smiled at me. All white teeth and his handsome face. He was too fine for his own good.

Evelyn turned around and smiled at me too.

"You look gorgeous Allaya. I hope you liked it."

"I did. Your staff is amazing and the spa is beautiful", I gushed at her.

"That's good baby. Dave tell your cousin to call her damn mama before I come ova there and kick her ass myself. I swear Eva is trying to put me in an early grave. You two enjoy the rest of your day now and I better see you tonight." she chided before heading back inside.

Now that she said it, her and Eva looked exactly alike except for their height. Her last few words through me for a loop though but I ignored them and focused my impending anger on Dave.

He was still smiling at me as he opened the car door for me.

"What's your cash app?" I asked him while pulling my phone out.

He glanced over at me. " What you need it for?"

"So that I can pay you back for the spa day"

"You don't need to do that, it was my gift to you ma."

"I know and I do appreciate it. But I don't feel comfortable with you spending all that money on me. Besides you booked like seven more appointments for the year and I can't accept it. So what's your cash app so that I can at least give you some of the money back."

"Allaya" he sighed. "It's my money and I spend it however the hell I want to. And if I wanna spend it on your fine ass, then you just gon have to get use to it." He shrugged.

Talking to him was like conversing with a brick wall. Whatever he said goes and I don't think I could deal with someone like that.