LOVELESS

Chapter 1

Banging is heard at the front door as Sam jolts up from his sleep. "What the fuck?" He slides his large hand over his face, trying to keep his cool. The banging doesn't make him move any faster, though. He picks up his phone and sees nine missed calls from Veronica. He shakes his head, already knowing what's about to happen next. Wearing just boxer briefs, he stands up and stretches his 6'5" toned body. He walks into his walk-in closet, and slips on a pair of sweatpants. The banging gets louder.

He casually walks out of his bedroom and through his loft apartment until he reaches the front door. He opens it, nonchalantly, and walks away. Veronica stands at the doorway scowling at him. "You're a fucking asshole." Veronica storms in as she slams the door closed.

"My neighbors better not complain about your loud ass."

"You should've gotten your ass up on time. I knew you were gonna pull this shit."

She follows him back to the bedroom and into the adjoined bathroom.

"I told you I didn't wanna go."  Sam starts to brush his teeth as Veronica hops onto the long marble counter.

"Alexa... play Cry Me A River by Justin Timberlake." She grins as the song starts to play.

"You got jokes." Sam mean-mugs her and she laughs.

"Nah, but for real. Just do this for me this one time, and I will never ask you to go again."

Sam thinks about it as he shakes his head, annoyed at her presence.  "Why do you need me to go so bad? I thought you said, the other day, you had it covered?"

"Because I know they'll actually follow through if you're the incentive. All they ask about is you. That shit is annoying, yo."

Sam chuckles.

"That's not funny. All I hear is, is your cousin gonna be there? Can you hook me up with a personal session with him? He is so foine! Blah blah blah. Females are annoying."

Sam spits the toothpaste out before rinsing his mouth.

"So, you gon' do it or nah?"

Sam nods. Veronica jumps off the counter and hugs him in response, making him get water all over his muscular chest.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She ignores his side-eye and him not hugging her back.

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A G Wagon pulls up into a church parking lot and Sam hops out. A Mercedes coupe pulls in right behind him, and Veronica disembarks from the driver's side. 

They decided to ride separately, so that Sam can leave early and take care of some business. The lot is full of cars as they walk through it, heading towards a small building attached to the church house.

Sam opens the room door for Veronica and follows her inside. A large group of men and women are seated in a semi-circle in front of the podium, having a conversation with the facilitator. As soon as the women notice Sam, the conversation comes to an abrupt stop. Veronica peeps the situation, and chuckles to herself.

The facilitator greets Sam and Veronica. "What's up Sam? How're you doing Veronica?"

Sam nods at him and takes a seat next to Veronica.

"Well, since you already have everyone's attention, do you want to present anything this week?"

"I sure do." Veronica gets back up and makes her way to the podium.

"Hey y'all. Real quick. So, for those who signed up to help at the prisons the last two times and didn't show up, is there a reason for that? 'Cause I would like to think I can trust the word of my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, right?"

No one says a word as they avoid eye contact with Veronica. But no one is shocked at her bluntness either. Veronica is known to speak her mind. She's been like that since an adolescent, hanging around boys all the time. She was raised by her Uncle Larry after her mom passed away from Cancer. There was nothing but boys in the household with the exception of her Uncle's wife, Liliana. Liliana and Veronica didn't talk too much to each other, but Liliana made sure Larry knew everything Veronica would need as a girl, and Veronica respected Liliana for that. Veronica, 26, is the youngest of her cousins. Sam, 33, is the oldest.

"Since the cat got everyone's tongue, I'm going to give y'all one more chance to come through. If you're not going to do it, please don't sign up. When I expect people to go to the prisons with me, I tell the guards more inmates can come to the group. But when I show up by myself, it fu- "

She cuts herself off. She's still working on not using so much profanity.

"...It messes up my agenda. Which is not fair to the people I'm there to serve." She looks over at Sam, and nods for him to join her at the podium. Sam reluctantly gets up as the women watch his every move. A man notices his girlfriend is lusting over Sam, and gently pulls her chin to face him. Judging by the look he's giving her, they're definitely going to argue in the car.

Sam is fully aware of the attention he gets from the women in the church, but he just ignores it. No one but Veronica knows why he doesn't pay anyone any attention. His demeanor is always effortlessly smooth, but he has a permanent scowl on his face. "Wud up. So, we came up with a contest, where the person who works the hardest at the prison will win a free personal session at my gym."

One of the ladies whispers to another church member, "Can I get a personal session in his bed?" They both giggle.

Another woman shouts, "I'll go to the prison right now! Just tell me where to signup!" Everyone, except the men, laugh at the woman's comment. Veronica's smirk fades when Sam mouths, "you owe me" to her.

Thank you for reading.

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