“Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.”
Gianna was defiling our marriage bed—our sacred vows.
“May fire and sulfur rain from heaven and destroy you both,” I quietly hissed.
An Uber pulled up to the curb next to them, but they took their sweet time getting in, too busy with their disgusting public display of affection. I couldn’t help wondering where they were going after this. Stepping out to the street, I kept my head low and raised an arm to hail a cab. The rain was beginning to fall harder now, and I rushed to climb inside.
“I want you to follow that Uber,” I told the cabbie, pointing to the silver Toyota my girl and the musclehead were getting into. The driver looked at me questioningly.
“Follow it?” he said in a heavy Indian accent.
Of course, I had to get a fucking godless Hindu for a driver. I wanted to scream.
“Be steadfast, my boy. Be steadfast.”
I tamped down my impatience and passed a fifty-dollar bill through the seats. Offering him a wide grin, I did my best to fake sincerity.
“Yeah, they’re friends of mine. We just decided to take separate cars. They wanted some alone time. You know how newlyweds can be,” I explained with a shrug. The driver smiled and nodded knowingly.
“Ah, yes! Say no more. I understand completely.”
Settling back into the seat, I stared through the windshield at the taillights of the Toyota as the cabbie pulled away from the curb. Smooth Operator was playing on the radio. I smiled a looked to my left, envisioning Gianna sitting beside me.
“It’s the song from our first date, honey,” I would have said to her. I reached out and wrapped my hand around the cold metal of the seat belt buckle, imagining it was my girl’s hand in mine.
Twenty minutes later, we crossed the Queensboro Bridge and Gianna’s end destination was clear. She was going back to her apartment. The question was, would Derek be invited inside? I really hoped not. That could seriously infringe on my plans for the evening.
When we were two blocks away, I tapped the cab driver on the shoulder.
“You can let me out here.”
“You don’t want me to keep following the car?” he asked through the review mirror.
“No, I changed my mind. I don’t feel like third-wheeling anymore tonight. I’m just going to call it a night,” I replied, keeping my tone light. Thankfully, the cabbie didn’t question it and pulled over to let me out.
After he drove away, I walked the remaining two blocks to Gianna’s apartment building. Someone had left an umbrella near the base of their front steps, and I grabbed it. The rain had slowed to a drizzle, but the umbrella would help keep my cover. Increasing my pace, I jogged the rest of the way and arrived just as they were climbing out of the car.
Ducking behind the cover of a large conversion van, I watched as they stood with their arms around each other, and again—more kissing. I was sure my girl and I never kissed that much. Jealousy and anger ravaged my soul, and I fought to control it. Resentment destroyed the fool, and jealousy killed the simple. I was neither simple nor a fool.
Eventually, the lovebirds separated. When Gianna walked into her building alone, I exhaled a sigh of relief. Dickwad Derek crossed the street and entered the adjacent building.
Interesting. I hadn’t realized he lived there.
How convenient.
Making a split-second decision, I followed the path he’d taken inside. Once in the lobby, I was confronted with a bank of elevators. The neon number above one of the elevators ticked up, until eventually stopping on the fifth floor. Since I hadn’t seen anyone else enter the building, I could only assume it was the elevator Derek the Douche had taken. I made to follow him but was stopped when I realized I needed a key to get the elevator to work.
Damnit.
I leaned against the wall, contemplating how long it might be until another tenant used an elevator. Once the doors opened, I could just slip inside. But then again, what if I needed a key to get back down? That could pose another problem.
Getting into his apartment might not be as easy as it was to get into Gianna’s. Accessing her place had been simple. All I had to do was pose as a worker for the local gas company and tell Oscar Tomasz—aka Oscar the Grouch, the gullible-as-hell landlord—there was a gas leak. Of course, I wasn’t so stupid as to ask for access to Gianna’s apartment first. No. I was smarter than that. I’d worked undercover before, and convincing Oscar was child’s play.
Still, if only Gianna knew the sacrifices I’d made to get to her. Enduring the smell of cat piss in Mrs. Trout’s apartment for far too long hadn’t been pleasant. Then there was the packrat in apartment nine B. I didn’t know how anyone could live in such squalor.
But it was all worth it when Oscar finally opened the door for my girl’s apartment only four days after she’d moved in. The wooden plank she’d later used to barricade the door was laughable. She should have checked her window locks better. Jerry-rigging the lock, so I could slip in and out of the window in her tiny dining room was like stealing candy from a baby.
And the utility closet off the hallway to the bedroom? It was as if that little nook behind the hot water tank was made just for me. I could hide there and still keep most areas of her apartment in full view.
I’d enjoyed myself immensely during my visits. The toothpaste prank had been fun. Watching her panic as she searched the apartment had given me a hard-on like no other. My girl, despite her adulterous ways, still appealed to my need for the flesh, and I’d no choice but to rub one out in my hiding spot behind the hot water tank.
Then there were the times when she wasn’t home. I liked that even more because I could smell her sheets and stroke myself, remembering how good she’d once felt. Sometimes, I even thought about the others. Yes, Gianna had been my favorite by far, but Cynthia, Julia, Samantha, Michelle, Sarah—each was perfect in their own way.
Until they weren’t.
Scowling, I pushed away from the wall and headed back into the rain. Thunder boomed in the distance, and I knew the city had yet to see the worst of the storm. Abandoning my original plan to climb through Gianna’s dining room window to watch her sleep, I headed west toward 41st Avenue and hoped the wretched weather would hold out until I made it the six blocks to Queensboro Plaza. From there, I’d jump on the subway line that would take to my room in Willets Point.
The motel where I was staying at was a mice-infested, seedy place that rented rooms for the night or by the hour. I was a far cry from my usual standards, but I didn’t have a choice. I needed a place where I could stay off the radar, and nobody ever looked twice at the unsavory characters who frequented places like this. It was His will that I found such a location. He was testing me, and I knew I had to remain steadfast.
“Be steadfast, my boy. Be steadfast.”
“He who has stood the test will receive the crown of life...” I repeated the verse from the Book of James quietly to myself as I inserted the keycard for my motel room door.
Once inside, I removed my shoes and damp clothing. Naked, I kneeled at the foot of the bed and bowed my head. I had much planning to do, and I would need His guidance to show me the way.