I snatched my cell from her and checked to see for myself. Indeed, there was an audio message waiting to be played. Bentendo had been a cool guy to chat with. I didn’t understand why today I was so eager to chat with him.
Pressing the play button, his voice boomed through, and it shook my entire body. He sounded so good. A little too good causing me to throw my phone as if it was on fire. Mercedees couldn’t hold her laugh and belched it in my face. I didn’t find a damn thing funny.
With a voice so deep, sultry, and chilling, there was no way in hell I was ever going to accept regular chats again. She scurried to my cell picking it up and pressed play once more. I had to give it to him; he had the voice of a man that got what he wanted without effort.
“Good afternoon, Angel Patience. I got a lil’ privacy today, so I figured I’d send an audio message. If it’s uncomfortable, let me know, and I’ll revert back to text.”
Thank you for acknowledging my boundaries, Bentendo.
The only person that ever showed me so much respect was Royce. I never had to repeat myself with him. He also knew what I liked and disliked. Seeing that this inmate was just as courteous brought a smile to my face. Men had left an unbelievably bad taste in my mouth and heart. However, this criminal was nice enough to try something new but also be prepared for the aftermath. I chose to keep my replies strictly text. You could tell a lot by how a person spoke, so I was willing to listen.
“Oh bitch! He did whatever they say he did, and he sound like he enjoyed it. Who the fuck is this man cousin?” Cedees had the big eyes and seemed as if she was happy for me. “I know fine nigga when I hear one and bitch, he is fione!”
“Would you shut up? This is an anonymous chat. What the hell are you talking about? Girl, give me my phone!” I shouted jumping up from the bench.
She took it and ran inside the ring like a child. Mercedees really did behave like a child at times. I was on her heels going after my cell. If I knew my girl, she was about to respond in the most hoeish way possible.
“Nope. He ‘bout to know wassup though,” she squealed tapping while running.
When she was done, she tossed the phone in my direction and sprinted out the ring. I didn’t bother to go after her. I really just wanted to see what the hell she sent that man.
Me: Nah love. I’m not uncomfortable at all. If anything, you put me at ease.
“Cedees!” I screamed.
“What? I kept it PG. Is that the first time he did that? I like his voice.”
Kissing the back of my teeth, I rolled my eyes while shaking my head. Mercedees was and would forever be that free spirit that went with anything. If it felt good to her, she was doing it. Me on the other hand had precaution about any and everything I did. When it came to Bentendo94’, I wasn’t giving him anything that was too personal. Each detail was surface level. Something you could find off a damn google site.
With that reply, he sent another audio chat, and my nerves went to jumping from the top ropes. I was panicking, and it was Cedees fault.
“Dammit Cedees. He sent another one.”
“Then listen and fuckin’ reply. I can’t believe this is really what you doing. I’m telling Royce,” she teased.
“You better not!” I shouted with a finger pointed in her direction as if I was her mama. She was starting to get on my nerves.
“You don’t tell me what to do. Press the button and see what he talking ‘bout,” she encouraged wearing that mischievous smile.
I hit the button once more and that baritone came through loud and clear. “At ease, huh? That’s cute. We done talked about all the shit I could think of. Tell me something random. Interesting but random. I need to hear something unordinary.”
I looked at Mercedees for help, and she just stood there laughing. She was of no help. I now understood why Royce and Striker only called on her to handle female problems. She was a headache in any other department.
“Bitch, you started this shit,” I chimed through tight lips.
“And you ‘bout to finish it. Tell him ‘bout yo’ hideout. Don’t tell him the name of it of course but tell him how your introverted ass found a swarm of introverts that shared the sameinterest. You need a hobby other than sorting books by the way. Look, I’m heading back to the office to catch up on paperwork. Holla at me if you need me,” she said throwing her duces up.
I waited until she was out the main area before taking a seat in the middle of the ring. I was cool with talking to Bentendo. It didn’t feel creepish or anything like that since the conversations were so light. Bentendo was slowly but surely making Chats with Angels straight again.
Me: Ms. Frizzle without the shit load of kids behind her. That’s me in a nutshell. Anything in a book, especially surrounding science is my thing.
As soon as my message delivered, his bubble showed. He was so eager to respond. I lowkey felt pressured to say something back. Outside of the Atkins men, no one else got this from me. I guess my comfortability came in knowing we would never cross paths. Bentendo was my introduction back into the dating pool even though he had no clue on what he was being used for.
Another audio message came through, and I didn’t let it sit for a second before I was pressing on it. Bentendo’s voice was soothing, giving me a sense of relaxation to a certain extent. I was still just as cautious walking on pins and needles while speaking to him, except the bed of needles didn’t hold thousands anymore. We’d decreased to hundreds.
“Aye, ain’t shit wrong with that. I guess I can call you Reading Rainbow, huh?”
His comment made me chuckle. The fact that he could match the vibes was crazy. Anything I came with, he had something for it. Magic School Bus and Reading Rainbow was from an era that could never be duplicated. He was cultured, and I appreciated that.
