Chapter 14
It was after midnight when Sabrina finally made it home. The house was dark which gave her hope that Tim was probably sleeping. She closed the door softly behind her not wanting to wake him if he were. However, as she continued to tip-toe into the house, her hopes were dashed after seeing light escaping from underneath his office door. He was up and most assuredly angry.
This was the third night this week that she’d come home after midnight. Maybe she should just go upstairs, take a quick shower and go to bed? She could deal with him in the morning.
Or, maybe she should run upstairs, take a quick shower, and give him something else to think about other than being upset at her. Either way, she needed to take a quick shower.
Tim sat still for a moment…waiting…wondering. He’d heard Sabrina as soon as her car pulled into the garage. He knew she was standing outside his office door. As he put his elbows up on his desk while twirling his pen, he wondered what decision she was going to make. Was she going to come inside and try to placate him with another lie, were they going to have an honest fight, or was she going to go to bed as if nothing were wrong?
Her footsteps going up the stairs gave him his answer. He dropped the pen he’d been holding and continued to review the contracts he’d been working on.
An hour later, Tim was still hunched over his desk working. He threw his head back and rolled his shoulders. He thought to himself that he needed to go to bed especially since he had an early conference call.
Buzz…buzz…buzz…Tim had no idea who would be calling his cell at one o’clock in the morning. He checked the caller id. It was Craig.
“Hey. Everything okay?”
“Everything is better than okay. I know it’s late…hell…early but I couldn’t wait to call you.”
The excitement in his brother’s voice was seeping into him, “Well…what?”
“You’re never going to believe this but…I think I’ve met the one.”
“Seriously?”
“It’s crazy because I’ve known her forever.”
“Who is she?”
“It’s Karen.”
“Karen Karen…like your personal assistant Karen?”
“Yeah. Karen. A few weeks ago a group of us went out to dinner and then to this jazz club for drinks after. She asked me to dance and when I pulled her into my arms something sizzled.”
Tim thought back to the first time he’d seen Sabrina. He sounded just like Craig. He was so excited. Now, he was wondering if marrying her so quickly was the best decision. They had great sex but absolutely nothing in common.
“I’m excited for you, bro. But, take it from me, slow down. Excitement and sizzle can wear off and then what are you left with?”
“Are you talking about me or you?”
“Both.”
“Well, I’ve known Karen forever. I don’t know how I missed her all of this time. But…I think I’m falling in love with her and I want to yell it from the rooftops!”
Tim laughed, “You may not be on a roof top but I’m certain anyone within a 2 mile radius can hear you. As long as you are happy, then I’m happy for you.”
“I’ve never been happier in my life.”
“Then, let me know when the wedding is so I can put it on my calendar.”
“I’ll do just that.” Craig hesitated before he spoke again, “How are you and Sabrina?”
Tim closed his eyes, “We’re about the same.”
“Counseling isn’t helping?”
“We haven’t gone…too busy. I’m not sure if it would help at this point. We’ve grown so far a part that I’ve just gotten to the point that, I don’t care.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No need to be sorry. It is what it is. Look, you called me to celebrate you finding the love of your life and I don’t want to bring you down with my marital woes. I’m happy for you and Karen. I’ve always liked her.”
There was a soft knock on Tim’s door. “Hey, I’ve got to go, but I’ll call you tomorrow.” He disconnected the call.
Sabrina peeked her head inside, “Hey…”
He was already tired, but exhaustion suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks, “Hey.”
Sabrina opened the door fully to expose him to her sexy smile and a thigh high silky negligée. A year ago, he wouldn’t have been able to remember his own name. Today, he felt…nothing. He was over it.
She walked into his office and tried to sit on his lap. Tim turned his chair so that she wouldn’t be able to. So, Sabrina sat on his desk. Then, she picked up her feet and placed them on each side of his hips. It gave him a clear view of what she called her power box. “You were taking so long to come up, I thought I’d come down to get you.”
Tim could smell her sex. However, he was not interested. “I had some work I needed to finish reviewing.”
Sabrina tried to use her thighs to pull him close. “Are you done?”
“Almost.”
“Well, can I interrupt you?”
“I’m really not interested.”
Sabrina leaned into him and whispered into his ear, “But…I’m very interested.”
He pushed her away and got up from his desk, “Well, I’m not. On second thought, I’m going up to bed and go to sleep.”
Sabrina was feeling frustrated that her tactics didn’t seem to be working anymore. “Seriously? I know you’re angry because I came home a little late tonight but it really couldn’t be helped.”
He shrugged his shoulders, “Why would I be angry? You do it all the time. No, I’m not angry but I am tired. Tired of pretending that what we have is a marriage. It’s not and we really need to figure out what we’re going to do about that.”
Sabrina rarely lost her cool but she felt like she was losing her grip. So, she screamed at him, “So, who is she? Who are you screwing? It must be somebody because it certainly isn’t me!”
Tim had made it to the door when he turned around, scratched his head while looking perplexed, “Let me get this straight, you’re the one who is never home, you disappear for hours on end, and never answer your cell. I’m sorry, you never answer my calls, however it’s like a part of your body when we’re together, yet you’re asking me who I’m screwing? That’s funny.” He shook his head and walked out of the office.
*****
Tasha was sitting at the restaurant waiting for Sabrina to show up. They were meeting for an emergency lunch. Sabrina was in crisis mode. Just when Tasha was about to call her, Sabrina walked into the restaurant.
After she sat down, she noticed that Sabrina looked tired. “Hey girl. Sorry, I’m late.”
“Hey, your text this morning made it sound like whatever is going on was pretty important.”
“It is. I think Tim might be seeing someone.”
Tasha was taking a sip of her water then she started choking on it. “Stop it Sabrina. You know Tim is not cheating on you.”
“Come on Tash…you’ve got to tell me everything you know. You guys hang out a lot.”
“Well, that wouldn’t be the case if you weren’t always so busy and somehow roping me into babysitting your husband.”
“That was the point, if he were hanging out with you, then he wouldn’t have time to be messing around.”
“Did it ever occur to you that in order to keep a man, you’ve got to spend some time with him?”
“Did he say that? Is that what he told you? That I don’t spend enough time with him?”
Tasha rolled her eyes, “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that one out. Even Eric has mentioned it.”
Sabrina waved off Tasha’s comments about Eric. “He’s one to talk. He seems to be MIA pretty often too. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have time to spend with Tim.”
“This emergency isn’t about me. It’s about you. What happened?”
“I was out late last night. He was upset. I tried to make it up to him and he put me off. What man doesn’t want sex?”
Tasha certainly wasn�
�t going to say anything but she had been wondering the same thing about Eric. It had been awhile since they’d been intimate too. And, when they were, it was as if he just needed a release and she was left frustrated. She spoke softly, “Maybe he wants more than that from you?”
“Like what? I’ll never be the happy homemaker if that’s what he’s looking for. I mean, he knew that when he married me.”
“Sabrina, where were you last night?”
Rarely did Sabrina look guilty but guilt was written all over her face. “I was with him. Look before you get all up on your soapbox, he was only in town for a few days. And…we ended things last night.”
“You ended things with Daniel again?”
“We seriously ended things last night.”
“You’re going to get yourself killed! That’s Tim’s brother-in-law. I don’t even know what to say…”
“Don’t say anything. Just tell me what I should do about Tim. I feel like he might be thinking about walking away from this marriage.”
“Can you blame him? If he ever finds out…he will. You would if he was doing half the stuff you’re doing.”
“What…has…Tim…told…you?”
“I’m your best friend he’s not going to say too much. But, I know that Tim wants to be able to share his inner thoughts with you. He wants to spend quality time with you. He used to talk about wanting to start a family. Maybe you should slow down at work.”
“Why is it that women always have to be the one to slow down? No one ever makes those kinds of demands on the man.”
“Tim adjusted a lot of things in his life for you. Maybe you could slow down just a little bit.”
“You know…this would be my third divorce. Daddy already thinks I’m a failure and I’m sure if we divorce, that will go a long way to proving that point.”
Tasha was getting a headache. “No he doesn’t. But, you’ve definitely got to figure some things out.”
Sabrina took a deep breath and reached out to hold Tasha’s hands. “If I can just get through all of this…I promise I’ll be a better wife.”
“Sabrina…you’ve got to figure out why you can’t control that part of you. Control that and you and Tim might have a chance.”
“I just need more time. Then, I can figure out a plan.”
“Why do you need a plan? Just be real with him.”
“Because…I’m pregnant.”
“Oh...my…god…Sabrina, that’s wonderful news! What is all this nonsense you’re talking about then? You know Tim won’t leave you. You’re carrying his child. He’s been wanting to start a family for some time now.” Sabrina looked as if she wanted to cry. “Wait…what’s wrong?”
“I don’t think it’s his.”
*****
Two weeks later, Sabrina called Tasha at work. Her voice sounded weak, “Hey, do you think you can come get me?”
“Come get you? When?”
“Now.”
“Give a girl some notice will you? I’ll just have to let my boss know I’m leaving. From…where? Where are you?”
“I’m at the Mercy hospital. It’s on the Westside.”
“You’re in the hospital? Why didn’t you just say that? Are you okay? What the hell were you doing on the Westside? What happened? I’ll call Tim!”
“No! Don’t call him. Please. You know he’s in Hong Kong for the next couple of weeks. There is no reason for him to rush back here. There’s nothing he can do anyway.”
Tasha grabbed her keys and her purse from her desk as she rushed out of the office. “Are you okay?”
“I lost the baby.”
Tasha stopped short and sucked in a breath, “I’m so sorry, Sabrina.”
Instead of Sabrina sounding distraught, she sounded…relieved. “Please don’t say anything to Tim. I hadn’t quite figured out how to tell him I was even pregnant in the first place.”
“Of course, I won’t say anything. That’s between you and him. I’m in the car, I’m on my way.”
Tasha had this nagging feeling that Sabrina hadn’t “lost” the baby but more likely terminated her pregnancy. She felt awful thinking that way about her and tried to wipe those foul thoughts from her mind.
Chapter 15
Tasha was standing in front of the stove finishing up dinner. Tim was in the living room watching the game waiting for Eric and Sabrina to arrive. They were both running late, no surprise there. He’d only come because Tasha asked him to.
She heard him the moment he came into the kitchen. Lately, just being near him made her heart race.
“It smells good in here. Need any help?”
Tasha wasn’t sure when her feelings for Tim had changed but they had. It was getting harder and harder to pretend that they were just friendly. The guilt she carried was eating away at her. What type of woman was she?
Trying to sound normal, Tasha responded “Actually, everything is almost ready.”
“I’m starving. Let me taste something?”
He tore a piece of French bread off from the loaf on the stove. He was now standing directly in back of her. She could feel him. His presence was so strong.
Tim leaned over her shoulder, “Come on. Let me dip this bread into that pot. You should at least let me have a taste as a reward of sorts for being on time.”
“Fine.” Tasha took the bread from him and dipped it into the pot. She turned around to put it up to his lips for a taste. When he tried to put it in his mouth, he accidently sucked her fingers into his mouth as well.
His eyes bore into hers as he slowly suckled all the juices from her fingers. She let him finish before she pulled her hand away. They stood there gazing into each other’s eyes.
Did that really just happen? Did he just do one of the most erotic things to her ever? She breathed him in. His strong arms encircled her waist and his heady scent made Tasha’s knees go weak.
Reflexively, Tasha put her hands up and weakly pushed against his rock hard body just as he’d wrapped his hand behind her head, pulling her lips barely a breath away from his.
Tasha’s feeble attempt to keep him at bay simply wasn’t working. Mere moments later, the space between them was completely gone.
There was no mistaking the passion in his voice, “I know I shouldn’t…but you can’t imagine how many times I’ve thought about kissing you.”
Her heart felt like it was going to burst. She felt helpless to stop it. Her mind screamed no but it came out as a whisper just as her body melted into his. “No. We can’t do this.”
The sound of her own voice wasn’t even convincing to her so she knew it wasn’t convincing to him. The moment his lips touched hers, Tasha was lost.
Her eyes fluttered closed as his tongue swept inside to tangle with hers. He tasted of the red sauce he’d had and the merlot they’d been drinking earlier. Her arms went up around his neck. His kisses made her more light-headed than anything she’d had to drink. The kiss was hungry…desperate even. As if they knew they were stealing this moment but wanted to make the most of it.
Tasha’s fingers made their way into his hair. He tore his lips away from hers as he let his tongue travel down the side of her neck. His hands were busy roaming until they disappeared underneath Tasha’s dress, searching and seeking. Seconds later, her lacy thongs slid down her legs onto the floor. Tim parted her legs with his thigh and moved in between them.
His voice was raspy and filled with need, “You feel so good.”
She was burning up…wanting…no needing him to fill her up. She rolled her body into the massive hardness hidden behind his jeans while she did her best to unzip them. It was as if they’d forgotten where they were and that they were both committed to other people.
That was all the encouragement Tim needed. He wasted no time picking Tasha up and wrapping her legs around his waist before laying her down onto the kitchen table.
Tim pushed her dress all the way up so that he could get a full view of her body. He’d imagined for so long what she would look
like laying completely naked underneath him, that he gave himself a minute just to look at her. The reality was so much better than his imagination.
Her skin was smooth…hot. Being in between those caramel thighs as he hovered over her, put him in a perfect position to plunge deeply inside. However, somehow he forced himself to steal another moment to appreciate her beautiful body first. Tim was overwhelmed with the desire to taste her. He licked her from her navel all the way up until he reached the barrier of her bra. He quickly pushed it out of the way before pulling one of those tight chocolate buds into his mouth.
Tasha arched her back as he hungrily sucked her into his mouth. Tim ignited feelings in her body that had been dormant for far too long. Moments later, he moved to love on the other one.
While Tim was loving on her breasts, Tasha wrapped her hands around him. She knew that he was well endowed but him aroused was something else. He was impossibly large and smooth like silk but hard like steel.
Tasha started making love to him with her hands…moving up and down slowly at first. Her touch proved the impossible. He didn’t think he could get any harder...but he had. The pleasure was so intense that Tim closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath that left his mouth slightly parted. When Tasha felt his pre-cum spill over onto her fingers, she picked up the pace. Getting rewarded with a groan escaping from deep within his throat and then another and another.
She felt so powerful watching the pleasure she caused play across his face.
Tim had taken as much as he could. Anything more would cause him to explode, so he covered Tasha’s hands with his own to keep her from moving. He kissed her again partly because he couldn’t get enough of kissing her and partly to slow things down.
He nipped and kissed his way down her beautiful body. When he made his way to her navel he put her legs over his shoulders. Tim continued to descend lower and lower and the moment his lips made contact with her sex Tasha almost arched off the table.
Tim hungrily took her into his mouth. He slowly licked up and down and in between her folds. Tasha’s eyes rolled back into her head when he entered her with his tongue mimicking the rhythm of making love. Tasha bucked up into him as she locked her legs around his neck. The ache in her core was building out of control. Tim couldn’t seem to get enough of her sweetness and greedily suckled every place he could reach. When he captured her tight little bud into his mouth Tasha thought she’d seen stars exploding behind her eyelids.
The Stranger Next To Me Page 7