Alexander tiptoed his way into Ashley's apartment. Ashley lived on the third floor of a deadbeat place, but her apartment was nice. The building was tall rectangle-shaped and had several glass windows with stains that allowed a view of the hallway stairs. As Alexander walked towards the greeting stairway, the yellowish paint was scraped and some of it looked like slices of melted mozzarella cheese falling drooping off the roof. Some patches of cement were visible as he held the handrail and walked up the stairs of the apartment building to reach Ashley's apartment which was number 428, on the fourth floor. There were no lamps above, only lightbulbs that sometimes blink. There was an elevator, but that thing never worked. People who visited the apartment building for the first time were warned by their landlord, a guy named Freddy, not to use it.
Alexander walked four flights of stairs until he reached apartment 428, where Ashley lived. It was inexpensively furnished with items that usually came from the dollar store. She wasn't really much into home decoration but she had all of her needs met. Ashley was a practical woman. Most of the time she left her key under the blue rug, so it was easy for him to grab it and open the door of her apartment. This of course was an arrangement that they both had and sometimes she did it, but other times she didn't for her own safety. It was sure that Alexander was coming to her place tonight because they had already talked about it at The Red Star.
Alexander was tired. He still smelled of alcohol and cigarettes, so instead of going directly to Ashley's room where she was watching her favorite sitcom Three's a Combo and laughing about it, he went straight to the bathroom. He could hear the actors complaining about some issue he didn't know about and Ashley wouldn't stop giggling about it. She knew that he had arrived though because she had heard the front door open and close, but she didn't go to see him, instead, she had her popcorn at hand and continued to watch her show. She never missed an episode and she wasn't going to do it now. Her round, blue eyes were glued to the T.V. She had already bathed and she was wearing comfortable and baggy sleeping pants and a white, sleeveless T-shirt. Her breasts were bare and loose under the shirt. She was not wearing a bra.
Alexander didn't interrupt her either. He took his shoes off and placed it at the foot of the toilet and then he took his clothes off and put those on top of the toilet seat. He turned on the sprinklers of the shower and felt the pouring water splash right onto his bare chest. It was refreshing to feel that water coming down his muscular chest. His strong shoulders and biceps relaxed under the rainfall coming from the shower head. He grabbed a bar of soap and rubbed it all over his chest and arms. As he moved the soap and rubbed it down on his body, small white bubbles formed all over and the aroma of soft vanilla crushed out the scent of cigarettes and alcohol. The small, wet black hairs over his chest settled down as the water continued to drizzle down on him. He felt that he could finally breathe. He was so exhausted and disappointed with everything that happened that morning after the verdict. The idea of him having to issue a bullshit public apology didn't seem to help with his anxiety either. He didn't understand how the charges were dropped despite there being evidence of a crime. Knowing and realizing Crave City was so corrupt and evil was like a bad nightmare. He did know that there was corruption, but he hadn't really realized the depth of that corruption. As he bathed and tried to relax, the conversation over at The Red Star played in his mind like if it was a film. Where the fuck was the justice? Nowhere. A vigilante is what this fucking city needed. A vigilante. He didn't know why he was thinking so much about that idea because it was insane, but then he couldn't forget that weird conversation between those two individuals. Who was this Adio dude and what drugs was he distributing? Could he be linked to Mancinni? With such a hostile enviorment it honestly wouldn't surprise him at all. Could he maybe trap Manicinni through this Adio guy? He didn't know, but maybe Jack knew something. Alexander was so tired of everything. He inhaled with his nose as hard as he could. He was stressed and thinking about that conversation, the suspension and the bullshit apology wasn't making things any better. The warm water coming down on him though did feel good. He decided to refocus his attention on that. The water on his body felt good and so did the splashing noise. It was just calming and that was what he needed right now. He took several deep breaths until he felt better. Then, finishing, but not wanting to finish that shower he turned the valve off and moved the shower curtain out of the way. He walked out the bath and headed for the towel. It was gentle, but he didn't want to dry. He just had to. He opened the door and came out nude. Ashley was still watching T.V. but the sitcom was over. The news was on, but she wasn't too interested in it. The bag of popcorn was empty and her arms were crossed as she watched the T.V. screen.
"Hey," Alexander said walking to her. He leaned forward and gave her a soft kiss.
"Hey, baby," Ashley replied. She grabbed his head and touched his wet hair. She couldn't get enough of him. His lips were soft, moist, and deliciously tender. She caressed his hair and then with her fingers she gently fondled his ears, from the round tip, all the way to the bottom. He opened his mouth and introduced his soft, moist tongue. She loved it. It made her feel warm and fuzzy all on the inside. She wanted and longed for more tongue and he gave her that tongue. It stroke her mouth and created a need for breath. Alexander held on to the headboard as he had one knee on the bed and the other on the floor. The towel just slid down, but it didn't really matter. Ashley was about to take off her T-shirt when Alexander's phone rang. Alexander lifted his head up and looked over at the bathroom.
"Baby, don't answer it now. Forget about it," Ashley begged. Alexander looked back at her and kissed her again, but the mobile phone didn't stop ringing. Alexander stopped and moved back up.
"No, no, no baby, come back," Ashley said, but Alexander walked to the bathroom and shook his head.
"I'm sorry. I... have to," Alexander said and looked at his mobile phone. It was Emma, the young reporter. He took the call.
"Hi," he said.
"Hi," she replied.
"Yes?" He asked her.
"Are you okay?" She asked him and he nodded.
"Yeah. What's up?" Alexander asked her.
"I'm kind of, in a mess," Emma replied.
"What is it? What's the matter?" Alexander asked her. He felt her breath as she hesitated to tell him.
"Are you okay?" Alexander asked.
"Well... I kind of did something stupid. Do you think you could pick me up at Mars Mall? I mean, if you're not doing anything," She asked him. Ashley was looking at him with her arms crossed. She raised an eyebrow suspiciously wondering who the hell would call him at this hour.
"Na, I'm fine. I'll go pick you up," Alexander replied.
"Thanks, I'm with my cousin Emilio, you remember him?" Emma asked him.
"Oh, yeah," Alexander said. Ashley was getting impatient.
"Alex!" Ashley yelled out at him. Alexander looked at her, but didn't reply. Instead he sort of waved at her dismissively.
"Oh, you're with your girlfriend. Sorry. Are you sure you can pick us up?" Emma asked him.
"Yeah. I was just leaving," Alexander replied.
Okay, great. Thanks. Also... I... kind of look different," she said.
"What do you mean?" Alexander asked her.
"Well... I... have brown hair," Emma replied.
"That'll be interesting to see," Alexander replied.
"Okay, see you later then," Emma said and she hung up the phone. Alexander began to put his clothes on, starting with his underwear and working his way up to his shirt and buttons.
"Where the hell are you going?" Ashley asked him. Alexander had to come up with an excuse and fast. He didn't know why he had the urge to go see Emma, but he did. It didn't make sense to him, but he just had to do it and he felt he also had to lie, even though him and Emma weren't really involved.
"That was my uncle. He wants me to go pick up the apology letter," He thought quickly.
"Now?" Ashley asked. She took her blanket off and walked towards Alexander who was buttoning his shirt. He was walking out of the bathroom with his pants and shoes in hand.
"I guess. It's weird, but I have to go," Alexander said. He put his pants on and upped his zipper. Ashley placed her hands on her hips. She felt annoyed.
"This sucks. I wanted you to fuck me tonight," Ashley said.
"I know. We'll do it some other time," he replied. Ashley grabbed his phone and Alexander hesitated. If she saw that last call, he was going to be in big trouble. However, she just handed his phone to him.
"I just can't believe this bullshit. Why don't you just call him back and tell him you'll go tomorrow. It's not like you have to memorize the thing," Ashley said. Her frustration and her voice both rising.
"Ashley, it's my job," Alexander said.
"Was your job. They suspended you, remember?"
"How can I forget?" Alexander replied. Ashley's nostrils flared and her eyebrows scrunched. She just hated this whole thing. She wanted a good, romantic night tonight and the Captain just ruined her night of wild sex.
"Fuck!" She complained. Alexander walked to the bed to put on and tie his shoes.
"But, I don't get it, aren't you drunk? Do you want me to drive you over there?" Ashley asked him and he shook his head.
"No, I'll go there the same way I came here. In a cab," he said.
"Can you come back?" Ashley asked him.
"Not tonight. I also have to feed Arnold. I totally forgot," Alexander said. Arnold was Alexander's guinea pig. Arnold was furry, brown with a white spot and he was absolutely adorable. He had a cage and a spinning wheel where he did most of his exercises. Alexander had received Arnold as a gift from a little girl who had lost her cat. He had helped her find it and in return, she gave him the guinea pig. He didn't want it, but nobody wanted to take it in and that sort of made him feel sorry for the guinea pig, so he kept it, but then he grew fond of it and had been taking care of it for almost six months. The little fellow was well-behaved, although his cage had to be cleaned a few times a week. Arnold kept him company.
"Shit. Okay. Go feed your rat," Ashley said.
"Guinea pig," Alexander corrected.
"Whatever. I'll see you tomorrow then?" Ashley asked him.
"I don't know. I'll call you and let you know," Alexander said. Ashley nodded. He finished tying up his shoes.
"Good night," he said and kissed her on the cheek.
"Bye," she replied and walked with him until he reached the door. He opened it and left and as he walked into the hallway and headed for the stairs, Ashley flipped the mat and grabbed her apartment key.
"So much for sex," she grumbled. Then, she walked back inside. She threw away the popcorn bag in the trash bin, turned everything off including the T.V. and then when she slid into her bed, she took her bottoms off and pleased herself. After she was done, she went to sleep.
Alexander on the other hand was outside when he got another call. He thought that it was Ashley, but it was Emma again. He answered the call.
"I'm on my way," Alexander told her.
"Forget about it, the police let us go," Emma replied.
"The police? What the hell happened?" Alexander asked worriedly. He saw a yellow cab with black dots and whistled at it as soon as he did. The cab parked on the sidewalk next to him. He opened the door and got in.
"Where to?" The cab driver asked him. He shut the door.
"Give me a moment," Alexander said as he heard the cab driver.
"The gas is still running," The cab driver said.
"Yeah, chill," Alexander replied as he listened to Emma's story.
"Holy shit. You did what?" Alexander said.
"Buddy, I don't have all night. You're my last passenger. Are you going somewhere or not?" The cab driver insisted. Alexander made a stop gesture at the cab driver.
"That's crazy. Well, I guess I'm going home then," Alexander replied and hung up.
"Jaded Fix Street," Alexander said. The cab gave him a brief nod and said nothing all the way to Alexander's street. He felt kind of stupid now because he missed out on good sex, but somehow he was also exhausted and thought that maybe going home was the best alternative possible. He couldn't believe what Emma actually did over there at the mall. He wondered if she was drunk and he also wondered what she looked like with dark hair. As he left, he didn't notice a black Sudan that followed.