VI | Little Ducklings

A final grunt slipped from Rowan's lips as he reached his peak. He planted a dry kiss on the side of Halle's mouth before pulling himself out of her, and swinging his legs over the bed.

Predictable.

It was almost midnight, and in a rare turn of events, Rowan had stayed awake past 9 PM. He opted to use the last of his energy from his evening out with his colleagues to lift Halle's oversized t-shirt when he finally arrived at the penthouse. She allowed it, of course, making do with whatever affection Rowan offered.

All ten minutes of it.

Halle blankly stared at the ceiling until she heard the shower run, and slowly sat up to view the TV. Grabbing the remote from the nightstand, she flipped through the channels, bored of the monotonous sale's pitch coming from the infomercial. She figured that some reruns of an old reality TV show would do, so she listened for a while, but eventually it all sounded stale.

Everything in her life had been such a snooze fest this week. Sage was always busy, even during their shared lunch. And Rowan was... well, he was being Rowan.

With a sigh, Halle peeled her asscheeks from the sheets, and padded into the closet to grab a towel hanging over the hamper. After wiping between her legs, she landed on the local news station.

"Authorities said that when they arrived at the scene, twenty-one-year-old Taz Sandler, a wanted criminal, was left in a pool of his own blood in the middle of the road. DNA evidence was left at the scene from another unidentified victim."

A dated mugshot of the red-headed male from the street racing event appeared across the center of the screen, and Halle's eyes widened.

"Sandler's injuries are non-fatal, and he will be posted on bail as soon as he is released from the hospital. Police are working hard to get the full story, and to locate the shooters. Up next, a labor and delivery nurse goes viral for living in her car despite making six figures."

Two faces in particular entered her mind as did Sage's warning from the diner: "Oh, those are the Fontaine brothers. They're fine and all, but you don't wanna get too mixed up with them. Lots of trouble would probably come from the fun that they bring. Oop, girl don't look now, but Chiko is checking that ass out."

She found herself wondering if either one of them were responsible for the mess, and if street racing was serious enough to attempt murder. Sameer had warned her that money brought bloodshed, but she hadn't realized how much.

The faint double vibration coming from underneath her satin pillow grabbed Halle's attention, and she strode back to the bed for her phone to find two new text messages.

Speak of the devil.

Sagey

Sorry, I can't! Brez wants to make up for lost time so I'll be MIA for a bit.

It looks like a good spa though! Let's go in a few weeks or something.

Boo, you whore

[Sagey laughed at "Boo, you whore"]

Halle's set the device down, and blew her breath. It was only the middle of the week, but she was feigning for a stress reliever, a getaway of some sort. Work was overwhelming, while her personal life lacked any pulse at all. She needed balance. A perfect middle ground maybe.

"Great," she whispered, proceeding to channel surf. "So I have no plans."

As if on cue, Rowan exited the bathroom with a cloud of steam outlining his silhouette, and a smile on his face. "Guess who invited us out, Hal?"

ꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄ

"Ugh, it smells divine," Mrs. Belliair moaned and threw her head back, her palm resting just underneath her pearl necklace.

Her dark hair was curled to perfection, and held in place with copious amounts of hairspray. Like Halle, she was wearing a dress, but of course the older woman was much more modest and expensive. It was white with black stripes, fashioned with buttons along the left breast.

"Yes, it is definitely one of our sweeter wines." The server placed the bottle down and patiently awaited their reactions.

Halle gave the appropriate amount of non-verbal praises before setting her glass down and staring off into the distance.

The vineyard was beautiful in the sunshine. Birds sang in the skies while people picked grapes, and the gentle breeze tickled Halle's wispy lashes. She was happy that they'd chosen an outside table. It was the scenery that made this outing all the more bearable for her.

"Leave the bottle here. We'll be just fine." Mr. Belliair dismissed the server, and pulled out a cigar. "You know, son, Nikita will be back in town soon."

"Oh, really?" Rowan's eyebrow raised. "How is she?"

"Absolutely wonderful. She's made junior partner at her firm!" Mrs. Belliair's voice rose with excitement. "God, she turned out to be such a fabulous young lady. I only wish that you two would be in better contact."

"Good for her." Rowan nodded.

To him, they were just compliments for the girl that he'd grown up with. To Halle, they were thinly veiled, malicious comparisons meant to bring her down. She took a long blink.

Such ugly words for such amazing weather.

"Any news on Cesar, dad?" Rowan's words caused her to open her eyes at last.

"None." The older man exhaled smoke. "It's a damn shame."

"Excuse me," Halle enunciated, and scooted her chair back. "I will be right back."

"Where are you going?" Rowan gripped the armrests of his seat, preparing to stand, but Halle held her palm up.

"Just to the pond and back. I will only be gone a second. Okay?"

"Well, alright." He relented.

Halle turned her back on the Belliairs, and began walking down the sidewalk, humming an upbeat tune to herself. The sun shone harshly on her exposed toes, so she picked up the pace until she reached the shadows of the trees surrounding the pond. The wind traveling over the water cooled her instantly, and her mood was lightened by the sight of little ducklings. They swam behind their mother in a chirping brood. She observed them from a bench for a short while, snapping photos.

"Aww." Halle grinned as the feathered family came closer.

She rummaged through the purse on her arm before springing up and inserting a few coins into the pay feeder. Only one seed fell into her palm.

"This thing just took my money!" She sucked her teeth, and unzipped her bag again.

"You just need to hit it," a deep voice advised.

She froze, and her eyes landed on a motorcyclist standing in the parking lot more than a few feet away. He was tall and broad, his pants just low enough to see the top of his underwear.

"Uhh, okay. Thanks." She tapped the side of the box and another single seed fell into her hand. On her third tap she gained nothing.

The stranger chuckled, and crossed the grass to approach her. "You must be scared of it or something, Halle."

Halle straightened her posture, taken aback by his usage of her name. He slapped the feeder twice and the grain mixture poured out rapidly.

She dove to catch the majority of it with both hands, and after the flow stopped, Chiko took his helmet off.

"Oh," Halle deadpanned, carefully carrying the food to the edge of the pond. "It's you again."

"I think what you meant to say is, 'thank you.'"

She exhaled through her nose, and sprinkled some in the grass and into the water. Coi fish sped to the surface to gobble it up, and the mother duck and her offspring plucked through the greenery. "Thank you, Chiko."

He used his free hand to scoop some of the mixture off of the ground, and sauntered next to her. Cocking his arm back, the food flew to the middle of the pond. "What's wrong with you?"

"What? Nothing." Halle shot him a look.

"Then why are you frowning?"

I'm frowning?

Why AM I frowning?

She tucked her bottom lip between her teeth as she pondered what to say. She hadn't realized that she was wearing her emotions. "I- I'm just... bored I guess."

"Oh word?" He looked to the sky and then back to the parking lot. "Come with me real quick."

"Where?" The word spilled out of her before she'd even fully processed the question.

"Just around the block." Chiko nodded towards his motorcycle.

Halle knew that she should just decline, especially due to her doubts about Chiko's character, but her curiosity was stronger than her urge to resist. Plus, she wasn't in the mood to go back to the table just yet, even if thirty minutes had passed.

Two men puffing cigars moseyed away from the vineyard and down the concrete path, both of their hair seasoned with salt and pepper. The one on the right had the same bone structure as Rowan, with a darker skin complexion.

"Listen, you don't have to." Chiko licked his lips, unsettled by her silence. "I just thought..."

The sound of Mr. Belliar's and his business partner's laughter growing in the distance sparked her adrenaline, and Halle made her decision then and there.

"Ok, I'll come." She hurried past him, and for a moment he didn't move, watching her asscheeks bounce in the white sundress.

"Hold up, here." He caught up, and handed her his helmet.

"What about you?" She hesitated to put it on, staring into his eyes.

"You never have to worry about me."

He swung his leg over to straddle the bike, and Halle slid on sideways, her ankles crossed. The helmet was a little loose on her head, but she still felt secure. An uncontrollable giggle left her mouth when the wheels started turning, and she tightened her arms around Chiko's hard torso.

Soon, they were in the wind, and the feeling in the pit of her stomach was one that she wasn't accustomed to, because it didn't come often. It wasn't lust or anxiety, no, it was pure joy. She smiled for the entirety of the first lap.

"That was fast," Halle remarked as Chiko returned to the parking lot.

"Yeah, I told you it would be." He braked and eyed her through his peripheral vision, having caught her disappointed tone. "You wanna go again?"

"Yes!" Halle grinned before clearing her throat. "If it's not too much trouble."

"Alright." He copied her expression.

Four more blocks were circled, and an additional hour had gone by before their joy riding came to an end. Chiko's hands encased her waist as he helped her to the ground, and she gently took the helmet off.

Halle cocked her head to the side. "You never told me how old you were."

"You never asked." He shamelessly swept his gaze over her body again. "I'm twenty-five."

"Really?" She scrunched her face, and dropped her eyes to her sandals momentarily. "You're younger than me."

"You have pretty feet." Chiko stroked his chin. "But anyway, how old are you?"

"Twenty-six." Halle bit back a smile. "Thank you."

"For the compliment or the ride?" He lowered his voice as he searched her face, and the pit of her stomach soared.

Before she could respond, her phone rang and a photo of Rowan popped up. "Hello?"

"Halle, where are you? Are you okay?"

"Yes! I'm at the pond, remember?"

"Well, I just went down there and I didn't see you. Neither did my dad. We're ready to leave."

"Well, I'm here! I'm about to walk back to the table now." She ran a hand over her short hair and rubbed her lips together as the line went silent.

"... Okay," Rowan finally spoke again.

"Be there in a minute. Bye." She hung up, and took a few steps away. "It had fun, Chiko, but I better get going."

"Still too good to give me yo' number?"

"You never asked," she repeated his words, halting briefly to collect the phone from his outstretched hand.

"Cool, just let me know when you get bored again. I'm always down to give you a ride."

"Right." Halle dipped her chin, her voice barely above a whisper. "Okay."

By the time she made it back to point A, her thighs burned and she was short of breath.

"There you are!" Rowan clapped his hands. "What took you so long?"

"Little ducklings." Halle presented the photos that she'd taken of her favorite animal. "Aren't they the cutest?"

~

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-What's your favorite animal?

- Do you think that Halle has crossed the line already?

Vote and comment!