Beans didn’t say anything because bringing up Paige was sensitive. We all knew he tried to play it cool, but it was eating him up. I leaned forward. “Let us help you get her back,” I said to him.
He ran his hand through his hair. “Aight,” he mumbled.
“Are y’all niggas ready because I am,” Kareem said into the mic.
Beans turned toward him. “Yeah, I’m going to start the track over, and when that muhfucka drop, you do what you do best.”
I sat back as I watched Kareem shine in his element. As soon as the beat dropped, he let go. I sat there as a proud girlfriend, looking beyond the material things and accepting a man for who he was, and that made me proud.
PAIGE
The New Year was approaching, which meant the holiday break was almost over. I was now ready to tackle my last semester, which felt like a four-year sentence of learning. I wasn’t sure how things would go back on campus after officially pulling away from the podcast. Although I had new friends to surround myself with, the reality was that it still included Braylen.
I got out of bed to tell Leek to turn the music down when the sound of the doorbell caught my attention. I thought my brother would answer, but of course, he expected me to. When I swung the door open, no one was there, but a box with an orange bow and my name on it sat on the porch. I picked it up and opened it. The first thing I noticed was an invitation card that read:
I chewed on the inside of my lip as I tried not to smile. I didn’t bother to look in the box because I wasn’t sure if I wanted to accept, but his creative ways had piqued my interest. Did I want to capture love or leave it where it was? My thoughts shifted back and forth, whether I would accept his request or not. I knew that no matter what, the love I had for him wouldn’t go away. However, if he wanted to play a game, this would be our last one. I removed the lid from the box and finally dug in to seewhat was inside. The first thing I pulled out was a map. It had orange-coded numbers that told me I had to solve them to reach each location. I nodded slowly, “Ok, Braylen,” I mumbled.
Next, there was an orange two-piece leather set with an opening in the crotch area, and I smiled. As excitement ran through me, I hurried, showered, put on the two-piece from the box, and put on a long coat I’ve had for years and never used. I quickly moved through my mother’s house to leave. “Where are you going?” Leek asked.
“On a Quest.”
He laughed. “You and that damn game.”
I grinned. “This will be the last time playing, I promise.”
“Yeah, ok,” he said.
I knew he didn’t believe me, but it was true. I was at the final level, and once you beat that, there was nothing left. I hurried to my car and jumped in. I pulled out my map and began entering the codes on the note into my phone, curated for the Treasure of Doom game. Once my location popped up, I got excited. “Braylen, you’re a fucking genius,” I mumbled as I drove off.
When I reached the first location, I laughed hard as hell as Morgan stood outside her house shivering. “For you,” she said as she handed me a box through the window. “Good luck, bitch!” I heard her say as I drove off.
PRESS PLAY
When I stopped at the stop sign, I opened the box to a silk orange sash-like belt. “Hmm.”
I entered my next set of codes, and just like magic, it pulled up my location. It was only a block down from Morgan. I saw Alyse waving in the street. My belly began to hurt as Ilaughed even harder. “I thought you would never show up. Brace yourself, here, boo,” she said as she handed me another box.
My eyes lit up as I opened it to see a whip. “Braylen, what are you up to?” I mumbled.
I set the item on the passenger side, as now I was on to the game. I didn’t even bother to put in the next code as I headed straight to Samara. Sure enough, she was outside waiting along with Dio. The only difference is that she wasn’t as happy as Morgan and Alyse. When I rolled the window down, she came to the car, “Here you go. I’m not sure what it is, but it’s clear he loves you.”
She slowly backed away as she glanced at Dio and went into the house. Dio came to the car, “Make sure you smoke that shit up before you get to your next stop,” he paused. “Welcome to the family, shorty,” he said as he walked off.
My heart ached for Samara because sadness filled her. I glanced into the box where a blunt and a lighter sat along with handcuffs. I picked the blunt up and lit it. I took a few pulls as I pulled up my last set of codes. When it popped up, I cranked the music up and took off. I smoked as I drove, sang to the music, choking off the smoke I held in my lungs to the point my head felt like a balloon. When I turned onto the dark street, my nerves kicked in.
I parked my car, grabbed all of my collected items, and walked toward the building. When I entered the dark, eerie building, there was a giant, makeshift tree. Now, I couldn’t tell if it was the weed kicking in or if Braylen had done his big one, because the tree looked so realistic. The goblin-like guard stepped forward and stared at me. I nervously glanced around before I gave him the last code from the map. “I’m on a quest for love,” I muttered.
He nodded slowly and knocked on the thick tree. Suddenly, someone came behind me and removed my coat. The sash that dangled from my hand slid between my fingers and eased around my eyes. “Welcome,” a man said. “It’s now time to play Piggy and the Beast,” he finished.
I stood there not knowing what to do. “How the hell am I supposed to find the beast blind folded?” I whined.
My breathing picked up as I felt a gust of cold air wrap around me. I knew then they had opened the door. I hesitated before stepping forward. As a little panic settled in, I let out a deep breath. “Get together, Paige,” I muttered as I stepped forward.
I sniffed the air as the smell of fog invaded my nostrils. I held my hand out as I began to move around. When my hand touched something that felt like another tree, I quickly removed the sash from my eyes. A wide grin eased on my face when I realized this was a live version of the game.
Smoke drifted around as orange lights flickered. My eyes brightened as I started walking through the dark, forest-like setting. The room became quiet until I heard him. His growls echoed, though I couldn't see him. My feet quickened as I tried to follow his voice. The sounds of him jumping in and out of dark spots made me feel like Pyran on a quest. I moved from tree to tree, even squatting to look underneath the logs and rocks. He wanted to play hide-and-seek, and it started to turn me on.
I knew I was getting close because I could hear his heavy breathing nearby. “Braylen?” I called out.
