The ballad of Akir James

Twenty-Two |2|

        I PUSH MY LAPTOP AWAY  reaching for my strawberry supplies, and I took a sip as Cavlon and Eli walked into the kitchen both drenched from the pool

"Smells good in here!" Cavlon exclaims as he heads for the fridge to retrieve a popsicle as Eli goes to the stove. Eli lifted the Dutch pot inhaled the food aroma, and sighed. "Please stay forever," Eli suggested as he covered the pot.

   Cavlon shakes his head as he joins me at the table, admiring the sketches that were scattered on their dining table. "Cav," Eli calls, he looks up as he tosses him a kitchen towel, and he is caught with one hand. He unwraps the Popsicle and places the wrapper onto the kitchen towel before biting into the coconut-flavored Bon.

Eli reaches for the bath pan as he goes out the door to retrieve the dry clothes on the washing line. "These are good," he took in my sketches.

"Thanks," I replied.

"Eli told me you were good, I didn't believe him til now." He says as I start to pile the sketches on top of each other.

"I wanna hire you to do an album cover art," he says, I look up at him. "Are you serious?" I asked wide-eyed, shocked.

"Yeah, I am serious. You'll have to do it here, privacy and all. " He leans forward with a genuine smile.

"You'll get to hear the single first on hand." He smiles.

"Of course," I state excitedly.

"It's a collab too," he leaned forward and whispered. "Who is it?" I asked.

"I can't say yet," he chuckled at my excitement.

"Thank you, I promised I'd draw with all my talent," I told him.

"So he gets to hear about your secret single, but I can't." Eli pouted, glaring at Cavlon as he stepped back into the house.

"Of course, he'll be doing the album art." Cavlon suck on the Popsicle before biting it off.  "Arrggh," Eli grabbed his neck from behind to release his playful anger before kissing him full on the mouth. Cavlon shakes his head and continues to eat his Popsicle.

"He won't even let me know if it's a man or woman," Eli voices out. I laugh at the true frustration coming from Eli.

"Akir, we're family. Pinch me a clue when he lets you in. Right cousin? " He asked, I laugh.

"I have officially  signed a confidential document that  says I can't say a word." I join in on the teasing, getting up to check the pot.

"Sell out A," Eli states. I laugh.

"Dinner is -" I didn't finish the sentence, I turned to see Eli straddling Cavlon, his hand around his neck, while Cavlon rested his hands loosely at Eli's hip as they stared into each other's eyes Cavlon continued to tease him. 

      Eli whispered into his ears, Cavlon laughed out, gripping him tightly at the waist, probably preventing Eli from bracing upon his private part.

"Akir, go home," Eli looks towards me.

"Don't pay him any mind, I love the distraction." Calvin chuckled. Eli leaned and suck on his ear lobe. Reminding me of Ronen, my Jerks.

"Later, I am hungry." Cavlon hit him firmly on the ass causing Eli to lean up on his body. Eli pouted and got off Cavlon, who adjusted himself, Eli chuckled and touched him there, and he hit his hand away.

        AN HOUR AFTER CAVLON AND ELI disappeared in their room, I stood in the living room watching a movie on Netflix when my cellphone vibrated. I glance at my notification to see it was a message from work.

I opened the email. It was an email stating we have a general staff at the conference center on Tuesday.

     Before I could slide the event into my calendar, Jessica appeared on the calling ID. I answered her video call, and there she was holding the phone up.

"Look who had an accident," she says, switching the camera to show me Ronen sitting in a chair with a piece of cotton in his nose, which was freaking pink at the moment. I stood up on the sofa.

"I told you not to call him!" He growls at Jessica, and Jessica laughs.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Your man here has a stalker," Jessica started, Ronen grabbed her, taking the phone, causing me to look at the ceiling.      

    "Akir deserves to know what if Akir comes here and attacks him. He needs to be alerted." Jessica, reason.

"I wouldn't let that happen," he gritted.

"You don't know that," Jessica says.

"Give me the phone," he snapped.

"I won't buy that stuff if you don't give me the phone," he threatened.

"Whatever, I need to use the bathroom anywhere." I hear her say, and then Ronen appears back on the screen.

"What happened?" I asked.

"It started with a bank notification, an investigation, a hunt for my wallet, a dark alley. An apartment filled with my pictures, a brawl, the hospital, and the police station." He says.

"That's a lot, Ronen," I replied with concern lace in my voice.

"I am fine, Shortcake," he tries to sway me. "You have a nosebleed, and your mouth is cut," I told him.

"I promise it will be better before I can kiss you again." He says with a smile, but he cringes, which states he's in pain. I pout, leaning back on the sofa.

  "Ronen Romeo Gawayne Voges!" His mother's familiar concerned voice startled the man a few behind him.

"I got to go," he says and ends the call.

       "Everything ok?" Eli asked after the call ended, I glanced to my left to see him shirtless with a glass of water in his hand and an Arizona in his hand.

"Ronen has an accident, just waiting on his call," I told.

"Is he always that's flirty?" He asked.

"You ain't seen nothing yet," I told him. Eli chuckle. "Can't wait to meet him so I can share some glory stories about you, and let's see if he will still flirt with you," Eli says.

"You wouldn't dare," I warned him, He laughed and walked out of the room as I sent Jessica a text. Hoping to get a reply but I didn't any til late up in the night. It reads;

   He's asleep, Took painkillers and was knocked out.

Will text you when he sets up his new phone. Go, sleep babe xoxo

I CALLED IN SICK EARLY MONDAY due to the fact I was out of town, and I haven't slept one ounce since Jessica called me about Ronen's accident. I fell asleep around four early in the morning but spurt out of my sleep around six am. when I finally got a call from Ronen.

            He couldn't wait, so he called me using his father's cellphone. And we spent all waking the morning on the phone until I fell asleep on him. It was a little after six, I arrived at Jessica's apartment and spent the night. I didn't want to go to my apartment.

       I have been declining all of Torando's calls purposefully because I did not want to talk or hear from him. Charles even called me, and I didn't pick up because I didn't want it to be him, and I knew very well he would be there. Luckily I left a pair of work clothes at Jessica's so I could wear them at the conference tomorrow.