No Pain No Pleasure: Chapter 7

The morning sun rose and went as the two still lay sleep together. Their serene utopia still intact as they laid oblivious in time. The sun like a spot light beaming down upon them as they await a rude awaken. But the passion they had shared just hours prior had them snug close enjoying each other's warm embrace. But this warm embrace would be interrupted.

Andrele slowly awoke to see at his surprise Mercy laying there with her head pressed gently on his chest. He couldn't believe his eyes. A night that seemed to him a dream was truely reality. Every kiss, every touch, every stroke was real. He was stricken with disbelief but he did not want the feeling to cease. He just laid there sorting his thoughts and enjoying the moment.

What could possibly become of this completely unexpected situation? How was Mercy going to react to this sight when she wakes up? That was all that was going through his mind. All he could think of was that Mercy's reaction was definitely going to be much different from that of his own. She was definitely not going to react as calmly as he had. He was caught between his own thoughts and thinking of what hers would be.

To somewhat deviate the hysterics of her reaction, he felt the best thing to do was to get out of bed and leave her there by herself so that it seems as if she slept in his bed alone. But would she really believe that? Considering the fact that she was naked, that was really unlikely. He just didn't want to be there when she woke up. He thought that it would be the worst thing to do in this situation. Well it was just his luck that he would not have the chance to make that choice. He suddenly felt Mercy beginning to move. As she began to wake up he became a little frantic but it was to late to get out of bed so he did the only thing he could think of at the time; he played sleep.

"Oh no....NO!" Mercy whispered as she slipped from her slumber to see herself in bed with Andrele. "What have I done?"

She sat up slowly ensuring that she didn't wake Andrele; or so she thought. She took a moment to gather herself and her thoughts. She thought that she did not want to wake Andrele and have to face the awkwardness that would surely follow. She began to start out of the bed but then something came to her. The awkardness would be there regardless of if she faced him now or later. At the end of the day she was his assistant and there was no way that she could run from this. She gave herself a quick pep talk then she "woke up" Andrele.

"Drele...Drele...Andrele wake up?"

She shook him and he pretended to wake up.

"MERCY...WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" he asked pretending to be surprised. "AND WHY ARE YOU NAKED...WHATS GOING ON?"

"Drele stop acting like that...you know good and hell well what's going on and what went on." she said. "It did happen right?"

"Yea...I'm pretty sure it happened."

She turned her head and let it fall into the sheets she had clinched in her hands.

"Are you sure...cause I mean we could've just slept..." she asked turning back toward Andrele.

"Really...just slept...." he said. "We both naked laid up...does that sound like 'JUST SLEPT' to you?"

"Yea you're right...how could we have let this happen Drele?" she asked.

Mercy fixed the cover around herself to stand up.

"Wow wow wow...what are you doing?" he asked. "I ain't got no clothes on under here Mercy..."

"Oh please...you was worried bout being naked last night!" she replied.

"Well neither were you."

"That was low...you ain't even have to go there?" she said.

"You went there first!" he said.

"Whatever...but seriously what are we going to do?" she asked.

"I mean I don't know." he said.

"What do you mean you don't know...how can you be so calm about this?" she asked.

"Cause its nothing to freak out about Tanya." he answered.

"What do you mean...this is totally something to freak out about...I'm your assistant!" she shouted.

"And you did your job...you assisted me by helping me get to sleep..." he said. "...right after a couple rounds AWESOME sex."

"Wow and you handle this by making jokes...really?" she asked.

"I mean what do you want me to do Tanya?"

"I want you to help me find out how we gon forget bout this." she said.

"Well I have a problem wit that!"

"And what is that Drele?" she asked.

"What if I don't want to forget about it Tanya?" he said.

She sat up and turned toward him still clinching the sheets.

"What...what are you talking bout Drele?" she asked.

He stood up from the bed and walked over to grab some shorts.

"Just what I said...What if I don't want to forget about it?"

"Drele I heard exactly what you said...by saying that though what do you mean by it?" she asked.

"What do you think I mean by it...Exactly what I said." he said. "I don't want to forget about it."

Andrele could tell from the look on Mercy's face that she did not understand the statement he was trying to convey. He sat back down beside her.

"Mercy what I'm trying to say is I don't want to forget about it cause I feel for you."

"Andrele stop bullshitting now...stop playing wit me...this ain't funny." she said.

"I know that and I'm not trying to be funny...I have feelings for you Tanya."

"You can't be seriously telling me this right now." she said.

"I'm being very honest wit you." he said.

"So last night was all a set up...you knew what you were doing all long...you got me drunk to have sex with me?" she asked.

"Nooooo...not at all." he said. "I will say that I was tryna do something special for you by cooking but everything else that happened happened naturally."

The room goes quiet for a moment.

"Plus I would've never done anything or even tried anything with you if you hadn't kissed me first."

"You still took advantage of me Drele...I was drunk!" she said.

"Yes I understand that and just because I have feelings for you that means I took advantage of you, even though you came on to me first?" he asked.

"Yes...exactly...regardless if I came on to you or not!" she replied.

"Oh ok Mercy...whatever." he said. "Well let's just drop it and move on."

He then started for the bathroom.

The situation turned out just as he'd expected. Andrele feared her reaction so much because he knew that he couldn't explain the situation without having to explain the real reason he wouldn't let her leave after she had kissed him. Andrele secretly had feelings for Mercy. He decided against saying anything about it before because of there working relationship. He didn't want to complicate things and he definitely didn't want to possibly get turn down. But with his wildest dreams unfolding he had been caught up in the midst of his emotions.

Mercy still sitting up laid back on the bed. She was in totally shock of what had just transpired. One minute she's thinking that the sex would be the thing that would complicate things, but ultimately it would be Andrele telling her that he had feelings for her, which to her was entirely from left field.

"Where are you going?" she asked him as he walked away. "We not done talking!"

"I'm done talking...I shouldn't even said that much."

"But you did and now what do you expect me to do?" she asked.

"Do whatever you feel is right Tanya...it doesn't matter to me." he said.

"You can't be serious." she said.

He went to the bathroom and got in the shower. At this point he didn't know how to feel. He had mustered up the courage to actually tell her how he really felt about her and it ended up just how he thought it would end. All he could think about now was that the relationship between he and Mercy would never be the same. A night of passion would ruin four years of time.

"So when were you going to tell me Drele?"

"I was never going to tell you Kandis..." he answered.

"What did you just call me...I know you ain't call be another bitch name." she replied.

"I called you Kandis." he said.

Another bombshell dropped on her. He just called her Kandis, the crazy, out going, overachieving lady character from his latest book that she had been asking about.

"Why did you call me that?"

"You are Kandis....well Kandis is you..." he replied.

"So who is..."

"That's obvious Mercy...its me...Jerrod is me..." he said.

"I can't believe this...You...What is..." she said walking from the bathroom.

Andrele could hear what he thought was pacing coming from the bedroom. He doesn't get out to check. He just simply continues his shower. Everything went through his mind. He didn't know how to feel. On one hand he was relieved to have finally gotten his feelings off of his chest but on the other hand he knew that this situation did not turn out well at all. He finishes his shower and gets out to dry himself. He hears the front door close. With that door closing so did the opportunity of something ever becoming of he and Mercy; or so he thought.

After a couple hours passed, he decided to go spend the rest of the day with his family. He left his tomb of emotion and breathed in some fresh air. He then jumped in his car and was on his way down MLK Jr. Drive. When he pulled up his niece and nephew came running out of the house eager to see him; or maybe it was the McDonald's that he had picked up on his way there. But either way Andrele was happy for the embrace.

He walked in the house to see everyone sitting in the living room talking: his sister and her boyfriend, his mother and Big Mama.

"So what's going on y'all?"

"Ain't nothing going on...come on in...you interrupting Big Mama." his sister said.

He puts the food on the dining room table, grabs a sausage biscuit and then sits down beside his mother.

"Hey baby...but yea just like I was saying girl you gotta do what you feel is right." Big Mama finished.

"Well this is definitely what I want." his sister said.

"What y'all talking bout, if I may ask?" he asked.

"Well if you must know nosey, Ken proposed to me." his sister said.

"WHAT...WOW...IM AMAZED!" he said.

"I know...its so great right?" she said.

"Nawl I'm amazed that he would wanna spend the REST of his life wit you." he said sarcasticly. "Like honestly brah, you wanna roll over and see that every morning...and the breath...THE BREATH!"

"SHUT UP DRELE...ugh...I hate you..." she said.

"I'm just playing...congrats to you two and I give y'all my blessing."

"Thank you big bro." she said to Andrele.

"That is just beautiful!" Big Mama said. "Do what makes you happy baby."

"Were you considering not getting married?" Andrele asked.

"Yes...we want to but I really wanna have daddy's blessing too and daddy ain't in the best of condition right now so I definitely don't wanna bother him wit this." his sister said.

"I was telling her that he is gon be happy for her either way!" his mother said.

"I do agree sis...it will probably make him very happy to come home to that."

"Big bro when are you gon get married or even have a steady girlfriend?" his sister asked.

This question could not have come at a more awkward moment. It could have only been worse if Mercy was actually sitting there as well.

"Well I don't know...but don't y'all worry bout that." he answered. "That'll be in due time."

His mother could sense the tension from his answer so she stepped in to mediate.

"So everything been ok son?"

"Yea everything's ok...just some problems with business...you know how that goes." he replied.

"Yea I know but you'll get through it." she said as she rubbed his back. "You always do."

"Yea and you know that you gotta go through troubling times sometimes to get what you want." Big Mama said. "Or to get what you truly deserve."

He sat back and thought about that statement for awhile.

"And if things don't work out you always got us to fall back on." his mother said. "We are always here for support."

"Well thank y'all!" he said.

"Hey Drele man...I saw in the paper that there were talks of a fourth installmant to your series man...you came up wit a title yet?" Ken asked.

Andrele took and then gave Ken an answer standing up and walking toward the door.

"Yea I think I have...No Pain No Pleasure..."

"Oh cool...I can't wait til it drops man...I wanna buy my copy directly from you." Ken said.

"Well thanks man." he said to Ken.

"Where you going sweetie?" Big Mama asked.

"I gotta go talk to Mercy about something...I'll be back." he said with a smile. "I'll see y'all later."

To Be Continued...