1631 (part 1)

She could remember the very day they met like it was yesterday...she had gotten a flat tire on 50 going east towards Bowie. A freshman in college, and completely new to life on her own, she panicked. She was 5'5", 135 lbs., a hazelnut complexion with dark brown eyes and eyelashes that seemed never ending. Growing up in the suburbs, she wasn't too well equipped with street smarts, so at that moment fear was definitely on her side. This was her fist car and her first flat...wat to do? Her mind was going blank as she tried to recall the events of her last night in Somerville before the drive to DC. Ron, her older brother, gave her a crash course on cars just to get her off the ground. A light bulb went off and she quickly remembered the bottle of "fix a flat" he bought her..."...just use this on your tire and it'll be able to get you to the closest gas station or service station" Ron was a genius and she would definitely be sure to thank and praise him later if she ever got out of this rut. Ok...ok...she tried to get herself together long enough to use the "fix-a-flat". So tempted to call home and drown her family with the situation at hand, she picked up her cellular, but that idea quickly dissapated once she remembered it's 10:30 on a Monday night and she was driving to Bowie to partake in some activities that weren't part of her weekly routine nor part of the reason Elizabeth and Thomas paid their 25,000 dollars to send her to Howard University. So she dialed her roomie. Although they were from different worlds they pretty much meshed, besides she knew noone else to call. "Hey, Ericka...yea I'm on 50 and I got a flat...I'm trying to make it to the nearest gas station now, but keep close by the phone so I can update you k!...o no...I'm definitely coming back home...k...thanx...bye"!
She knew he was waiting for her arrival and would be disappointed at the sudden change of plans, but she couldn't even think about driving to his condo right now. She and Taylor had been dating for about a month and she usually spent the weekends at his apartment, but that past weekend was her roommate's birthday and so she spent the weekend with her, they went to dinner and clubbing, so she and Taylor made plans to spend Monday night together after her evening class let out at 9:30. She began to think of how much of a mistake it was to break routine.
She finally made it to the nearest gas station; just in time, thank God, because the fix-a-flat just started wearing out. She drives into the station to notice that the service station was closed! Of course it's closed...why would they think to leave a service station open after hours on the freeway, she thought in frustration. She scanned the area for possible help. There was a man standing at the entrance to the QwikMart about 50 feet away. "Excuse me sir...ummmm...I have a flat and I'd really really truly appreciate it if you would help me change it...I've never really done this before and I'm just so..." she was rambling. "Ummmm..." he started off as he glanced at his watch"...sure, sure...that's...yea I could help you". Her heart took a deep exhale, "thank you so much, oh my gosh, you don't understand how much this means to me...thank you". So he changed her tire and made sure it had enough air before he decided to leave. "Thank you so much Marcus...yo were a great help...maybe I can do something for you...take you to dinner, coffee...something...please...I won't take no for an answer!" And that's how they met and today she was wishing she had taken no for an answer.

She stood in line at Starbucks waiting for her latte. It was only 8:30am and she could predict it would be one of those days. She misplaced her keys this morning, so she was 20 minutes late for class. Now the freaking man at Starbucks was short-staffed and screwed up her caramel skim macchiato and she had to wait for a new one...late again for class she thought. As she walked past 5th street she couldn't help but chuckle over the events of her weekend and what was to come. She was introduced to the finest brother she had seen since Morris Chestnut. He was tall, dark, handsome, and a last year med student. He had his own condo, Infiniti G37, and his momma knew better than to name him something trifling like Tyrone or Tyquan. Dominic was charming and promised to take her out the following weekend. It was a breathe of fresh air to meet someone after the week she was having. Marcus was getting clingy and she needed a break from him. They had only been dating for about 3 months but he was a bit overbearing and controlling at times. So spending time with Dominic was something she was surely looking forward to. Marcus had been calling her all week, but she was ignoring him...he just didn't get it. Tonight she had plans to dine with Dominic at Bennyhana's, her favorite restaurant. She was going to drive to his condo at 6:30, this way after dinner if she wanted to leave there would be no issues and she wouldn't be forced to stay because he was her transportation. So she started getting ready at about 5:00...showered and got dressed. She wore a burnt orange, thick strapped bubble dress that stopped 1inch above her knees...dark brown, peep toe pumps...her brown clad heart pendant chain with matching ring, and bracelet...sprayed some Vanilla Lace by Vickie's and grabbed her clutch and was out the door. Before she left she checked her voicemail. Dominic was supposed to leave her his address. She jotted it down on her sticky pad and left.
Driving down Baltimore Avenue she was looking for 1631 with much excitement and anticipation. There it was...1631 Baltimore Avenue...it was a brick one story house with an off white picket fence...it looked like it was empty, there were no lights on, but she thought nothing of it and proceeded to ring the doorbell anyway. She jiggled the handle and found the door unlocked and a voice suddenly rang out "Come on in, it's open..." The house was well decorated, earth tones, incense, and black art were everywhere....