Free Secrets On Lake Drive by Tina Martin Page B

door and walked towards
Sean’s Escalade, where he was sitting with the radio cranked up,
playing some reggae music. When he saw me approaching, he turned it
off and stepped out of the car.
    “I’m sorry,” I said, while approaching
him.
    “I’m the one that should be apologizing to
you. I know you love Roman, and I trust you. The only reason I was
upset is because I didn’t know where you guys were, and that’s not
to say I don’t trust your judgment. I just want to know where you
are at all times in case of an emergency.”
    “That’s all?”
    “Yep, that’s all.”
    He should’ve just come out and said that the
first time. We could have avoided all of this.
    “Okay. So are we good?” Sean asked me.
    “Yeah, we straight.”
    He opened his arms, inviting me for a hug.
How could I resist? I walked up to him and wrapped my arms around
his lengthy body. I intentionally squeezed him hard and tight,
closed my eyes, and took in deep breaths of his compelling cologne
or soap or body wash or shampoo, whatever it was. It smelled like a
mixture of cocoa butter, aloe, aftershave, and Lever 2000. When I
released him, I had a huge smile on my face.
    “So you didn’t think I was going to kidnap
Roman?” I laughed, and so did Sean.
    “Nah, I trust you.”
    “I’m joking, Sean.”
    “Oh.”
    Sean took his keys out of the ignition, then
walked back to the house with me. We sat on the couch in the family
room and talked…really talked…and I enjoyed the cool, laid-back
Sean Beauvais. The more he disclosed about himself, the more I
wanted to know. There was something mysterious about him and I
wanted to know what it was.
     

Chapter 11 - The Dream
     
     
    “AHHHHH!” I screamed to the top of my lungs
at 1:49 a.m. to be exact. It happened again. That dream. That
stupid dream. Keisha was the only person that knew about the
strange dreams I’d been having, and when I told her, she said I
needed to seek some professional help. I’d been having this same
dream on and off for the past five years about my ex, Cornelius
Hill.
    We broke up after we were together a little
over a year. Well, actually, he left me. I thought I would
eventually get over him, and I was doing a good job of it until
this dream. And each dream was always the same. I’m dating a man,
someone new, and we’re walking hand-in-hand by the lake under a
perfect sky. Then, all of a sudden, the sky turns pitch black. My
date turns and faces me and peels his face off like a mask. Blood
is flying everywhere, as he screams in anguish. Then it pours down
rain for ten seconds. When the rain stops, all the blood is
completely washed away. I look at my date again and it’s Cornelius.
He doesn’t say a word. Just stands there with those light brown
eyes staring at me. He drops to his knees and kisses my stomach.
Then he starts crying, louder and louder. He screams in agony,
“Why, Monica? Why?” while still on his knees. He then takes out a
pocketknife, flicks the blade open, and points it towards my
stomach like he’s going to cut me. That’s usually when I wake
up.
    Some people say dreams mean something. I
used to believe that, too, but rational thinking forced me to see
dreams as just something our minds do to pass time while we’re
sleeping. But if dreams didn’t mean anything, why is it that I kept
having the same one over and over again? So, I tried to make some
sense of it for my own sanity. I took part of it to mean that no
matter what man I was with, I would never forget Cornelius. It was
the part about the knife that I don’t understand.
    I took a deep breath as I sat straight up in
the bed, tears in my eyes, hair flying everywhere, and my nightgown
drenched with my own sweat. I sure hope Sean didn’t hear me
scream. The last thing I needed is for him to see me like this
– a hot mess. My heart was pounding, racing, beating abnormally as
it usually did after this dream. I was almost breathless and needed
some water…and fast.
    I tiptoed