Beyonce gazed at herself in the mirror. The make-up she wore did wonders to concealing the light ring around her eye. Before coming to work, she got into a fight with Bryan. He hit her once again, but she knew that it would never fail. No matter what. As long as she was with him, she will continue getting abused.

She turned, heading towards the bathroom door. Before she could reach out for the knob, the door flew open and a woman entered the room. "Hey, Bee." she smiled warmly.

"Hey, Beth. Just comin' in?"

"Yep." she stood in front of the mirror, scrutinizing her face closely. "What's up with that guy? You never finished what you were telling me a few days ago."

"Um..." she looked around, making sure no one was around. "Beth, if I tell you something...you promise to keep it a secret?" she stood beside her.

"Of coarse, girl. How long have you known me?" she spread a layer of red lipstick over her lips.

"Okay." she cleared her throat as she hesitated to tell her. "His name is Justin."

"Ooohhh. Tell me more. Hahaha."

"He's so...cute and..."

"I've noticed." she interrupted. "Have you gotten the digits yet?" she asked, fiddling with her hair.

"What? Of coarse not! Bryan would kill me." she frowned.

"Yeah. I forgot about your ass-of-a boyfriend. Why haven't you gotten rid of him yet? The guy is only bringing you down." she rested her hand on her hip.

"I dunno. I guess..." she sighed heavily. "If I dump him, he will probably go insane and do something death threatening. Besides, where will I go?"

"I've always hinted that you could come stay with me. You don't have to be with that asshole. And I know you. By your actions, you dread the thought of seeing him everyday." she held her head down in thought.

"I don't know. It feels like...I'm trapped. Trapped and can't get out. It's a horrible feeling. It's like, everything has to go his way. For instance, last night after cooking him his dinner...he wanted to make love. But I wasn't in the mood for it." she shook her head pathetically. "I slept with him any way."

"Pish, girl you gotta stop with this nonsense. Everything can't go his way all the time and you know that. You better let him know." if only it was that easy.

"I wish I was like you. I hate myself. I hate the way I am. I'm so...scared and just a friggin' coward when it comes to him. I wish I could tell him that, but..." she hesitated.

"But what? There's no buts, Bee. And you know what? You're not a coward. You're just afraid of losing him. And I don't know why. He's a shitty boyfriend."

"Ugh, I dunno. Listen, I'm gonna go start the coffee machine. See ya' out there."

"Alright." she exited the bathroom and headed for the kitchen. The soft music playing throughout the restaurant brought back a lot of memories for her. Natural Woman, by Aretha Franklin. One of her idols. When she was little, she would pop the record in and sing in her bedroom before going to sleep.

Now I'm no longer doubtful
Of what I'm living for
And if I make ya' happy
I don't need to do more...

"...Like a natural womannnn." she song while preparing the machine. "Hmm hmmmm. Like a natural womannn. You make me feeellll. You make me feelll. You make me feel like a natural womannnn."

"I'm gonna open up." Beth spoke, heading towards the front door.

"Alright." she continued humming to herself as she finished off the coffee. "Hey, Beth?" she turned. "Wh..." she trailed off, focusing on the handsome man sitting at the bar gazing at her.

"We have our first customer." she winked teasingly. "Have fun, girl." she whispered while brushing pass her.

"Shut up." she mumbled, slowly meeting eye contact with the individual. "Hi." she greeted.

"Morning." he intertwined his fingers together. "How are you?" she ambled towards him with a pad and pen in her hand.

"I'm fine." she held her head down, jotting a few notes on the pad. "What will it be?"

"Is it okay if I call you Bee? I hear a lot of people call you that, so I was just...wondering." she smiled, brushing a few lose strains of hair out of her face and behind her ear.

"No, I don't mind." he nodded.

"Okay, well um...my birthday just passed 'bout a week ago, but we're gonna celebrate tonight...at my place. I was just wonderin' if you would like to come." now she knew that was a no straight up.

"I'm sorry, I can't." she turned her back to him. He gazed at her, noticing something different about her. He couldn't figure out what it was, but he knew there was something odd.

"Is there a reason why?" she shook her head, refusing to let her emotions get to her. Especially not at this point.

"I don't wanna talk about it. Um..." she released a soft sigh. "...would you like a cup of coffee?" she hopped on another subject before things got too intimate.

"Sure."

"Less sugar, more cream?" a soft chuckle escaped his lips.

"Yeah." she fixed him a cup of coffee, sitting the hot mug in front of him. "Thank you." he carefully took a sip of the substance while keeping his eyes on her. "Mmm so..." he sat the mug down. "How are you and mister lucky?" he referred to her boyfriend.

"Ha. I dunno." he took a glimpse at his watch.

"Shit um...I should be going. I'm gonna be late for my meeting." he stood up, pushing in his chair. "Thank you for the coffee oh and..." he reached in his pocket, pulling out a business card. "If you change your mind, give me a call." he handed her the card.

"Uhhh o...okay." she accepted the card, gazing at the fancy lettering. What the hell am I doing?

"See you later." he turned, heading towards the entrance of the restaurant. She bit the bottom of her lip interestingly as she kept her eyes on the card. She knew there was no way of going to the party. Not over Bryan's dead body. It just wasn't happening. Not unless she had a plan. A GOOD one.
___________

5:35 p.m. (Later that day)

"See ya' at twelve." Bryan spoke, quickly pulling off. She turned and entered the coffee shop.

"Beth?" she called, rushing towards her. "Hey, you ready?" she stood there in complete shock.

"Oh my god. It actually worked? What did he say?" she smiled slyly.

"Well I told him that you wanted me to work over time. He's gonna come pick me up when the store close." a massive smile slowly formed upon her lips.

"Excellent. Let me go get my keys." she headed towards the lounge area.

Minutes later, they were on the road heading towards Justin's house. "Okay, did you speak to him before you left? You know where he lives?"

"Yeah. It's the biggest house in town. So we shouldn't miss it." she begin removing her uniform, revealing a two piece jean outfit.

"Haha you go girl. Wooo hooo!!! We're gonna have some fun tonight!!!"

Ten minutes later (6:00 p.m.)

They pulled up in front of a two-story house which looked like a mansion to them. There were guards standing outside of the gate with metal sticks in their hands. "Wow." they both gazed up at the house in awe. "This is huge."

"What type of man have you gotten yourself involved with? Now you KNOW he got money. Come on." they parked the car and stepped out, heading towards the front entrance.

"Excuse me, ladies. You're on private property." one of the guards spoke.

"Yeah, well we were invited to the party." Beth responded.

"One moment. What's your name?"

"Beth." he pressed a button on a walkie talkie, and talking into a speaker phone.

"Hey, Jay. There are two women out here implying that they were invited to the party. Her name is Beth and..." he gazed at Beyonce.

"Beyonce." she added in.

"...Beyonce." he released the button, waiting for a reply.

"Let 'em in." he stood aside, pressing the button to the gates.

"Keep going straight down, you should end up at the pool area. You can enter the house from the back door."

"Thank you." they both rushed inside, heading straight for the back. "Oh my god, girl. This house is magnificent. Look at the statues. So beautiful." she grabbed a hold to her arm.

"There he is!" she spoke excitedly. The familiar guy wore leather pants and a black shirt as he ambled their way. "Oh my god. He's headin' this way. Shit." she brushed down her outfit, making sure she looked perfect.

"Well hello, ladies. I'm so glad you guys decided to make it." he looked away, gazing in on Beyonce. "Hey." he eyed her outfit. "You look beautiful." she blushed, slowly holding her head down in a shy like manner.

"Thank you."

"Well listen, I'm gonna go see what hot guys are here, besides you." Beth broke the silence between them. "You guys have fun. When you're ready, let me know. See ya'." she proceeded towards the pool area.

"So..." she looked up to peer in his eyes. "I must say...you look extremely beautiful out of your work clothes." she chuckled softly.

"Thank you. You don't look too bad yourself." she kept her gaze on his bulge that poked out perfectly through his leather pants.

"Wanna go inside? I can take you for a tour of the house."

"Sure." he held his arm out, watching as she hesitantly wrapped hers around it. "Haha. So..." they ambled further towards the mansion. "...how has everything been for you? Haven't thought about marrying mister lucky yet?" she shook her head.

"No. Not yet." he nodded.

"Well, I guess it takes some time." he held the front door open for her, allowing her to enter the house first. "Just to warn you, I have a puppy. She's very playful though so if we end up bumping into her...don't take it too personal if she seems to be all up on you."

"Oh, ahaha." she followed him further in the house.

"Um, this is the kitchen." she peered inside, instantly gasping in shock.

"Whoa, this is...amazing." she gazed around in awe. "I've never seen a kitchen so huge." he shrugged his shoulders.

"It's nothing. Let me show you the game room."

"You have a game room?" she spoke in surprise.

"Mmm hmm. And wait until you see the theatre."

After a while of checking out all the rooms downstairs, they decided to head upstairs to the bedrooms. "I have five bedrooms. And they are all located up here. This is the first guest room." he pulled the door open, stepping aside for her to see. "It has a bathroom and a miniature fridge to store all of your goodies."

"This is beautiful, Justin." he leaned against the door, keeping his eyes on her as she checked out the room.

"Ready to check out the other rooms?" she smiled massively.

"Sure." she followed him down the hall.
____________

"Finally, the master bedroom." he pulled the door open allowing her to enter first. "This here, is my bedroom. Of coarse, you can see that I've put a special touch to this one."

"Oh yeah. I can...definitely see that." he chuckled softly.

"My most valuable possessions are in here. Like my guitar for instance." he pointed. "Whenever I'm alone, I sit down and play my guitar. It helps me to meditate." she nodded understandingly.

"You don't mind if I...sit down..."

"Oh no. Have a seat." she took a seat on the comfy bed. "There was something I wanted to ask you." he took a seat beside her.

"What is it?" he bit the bottom of his lip in thought as he scrutinized her beautiful features closely.

"There was something I noticed earlier today. Your face." she held her head down, feeling herself get a little nervous. Please don't mention it. Pleaseeee. "Your boyfriend...is he beating on you?" she looked away, not bothering to respond. "It's okay to tell me. And I know it's kinda hard to, being that you hardly know me..."

"I don't wanna talk about it." he exhaled softly.

"Okay, we don't have to talk about it." she looked away, peering directly into his eyes. Why was he so understanding? She never met a guy like him before. He seemed so down to earth. "Well, I don't wanna keep you in here all night." he stood to his feet.

"Justin..." she stood to her feet. "Um, I understand your concern, but there's nothing you can do to help me. And I just wanna let you know that."

"Well if you give me a chance, I can show you how wrong you are. Just put your guard down. For a minute, at least." he took a few steps towards her. "You're too beautiful to be going through this. And you know that." he reached out, brushing her cheek delicately. "Only you can make it happen."

"I've never met a guy like you before." she peered deeply in his eyes. "It's not that I don't wanna leave him. I'm just afraid of what may happen if I do." she held her head down, forcing the tears in.

"Beautiful?" he called. She looked up, gazing in his eyes. "There's nothing going to happen to you. You have to have faith and believe. That way, you'll be like NOTHING can stop you." she bit the bottom of her lip interestingly. "Everything's gonna be okay." she broke the eye contact, gazing directly at his perfectly shaped lips. She was curious to how it would have felt brushing her lips against his.

"Justin?"

"Yes?" she peered into his eyes.

"Kiss me." she spoke softly. He licked his lips, slowly leaning in to kiss her. He hesitantly placed his palm on her cheek as he put more feeling into the kiss. "Mmm." she slowly wrapped her arms around his neck, pushing herself up against him.

"Mmm." he groaned desperately. "Beyonce..." he breathed between her lips.

"Yes?" she trailed her hands up underneath his shirt, caressing his rippled chest.

"You think we should be...doing..." the door flew open and a woman stood there staring in shock.

"Beyonce?" she quickly broke away and gazed her direction.

"Beth?" she held her head down, feeling completely stupid and embarrassed. "Um..."

"Sorry. I'll come back later." she closed the door.

"Shit." she mumbled. "Um, I'm gonna...go downstairs where the party is." she took a few steps back. "See you there." she turned, and exited the room.

"Oh boy." he slouched on the bed and held his head down. For some reason, he felt confused about the whole thing. He didn't get what just happened. Were they actually making out? He couldn't have been imagining it because it all felt too real. He just wasn't for sure of where they stood. "Whew." he stood up and exited the room.

*My Black Coffee*
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