Tony looked as if his eyes were going to pop out of his head, when he saw her. He walked into the living room.
“Wow, you look gorgeous,” he complimented.
“Thank you, Tony,” she said.
“This is a beautiful place you have here, too.”
“Thanks again,” she smiled.
He followed her to her large kitchen, while she retrieved a yellow dish from the refrigerator and spooned some banana pudding into a small bowl.
He leaned against the island, in the center of the kitchen, watching her move so gracefully. She looked up and smiled. “Here you are,” she handed him the bowl. “And be honest, when you taste it.”
He put a spoonful into his mouth. He closed his eyes, momentarily, as he chewed. “Karla, I can’t lie. This is to die for. What’s your recipe?”
“It’s my secret,” she winked at him. “Enjoy.” she said, as he followed her into her dining area.
Her eyes wandered to his lips, which were very soft. Then she looked at his manly fingers, and imagined them rubbing all over her body.
“What is going on with me? Okay, I’m just horny. It’s natural. I want to know what it’s like. I like him. He likes me. It’s okay. “ she argued with her conscience internally.
“Something wrong?” he noticed her dazed expression.
“Oh, nothing. I’m sorry,” she laughed, nervously. “Oh, did you want more?” she noticed his empty bowl.
“No, thank you. It was delicious,” he wiped his sexy mouth with a napkin.
She gave him a tour of her home from bottom to top. She showed him the two fully furnished bedrooms, before hers. Once they stepped into her room, she sat on her bed.
“I usually like to watch a little tv or listen to some neo-soul right here in my room. It’s like a getaway,” she smiled, crossing her long, smooth legs.
His eyes followed them. He sat next to her.
“I listen to a little neo soul myself. I love Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Raheem Devaughn, Musiq, and Chrisette Michele, too.”
“Oh, Chrisette Michele is dynamite. A lot of people don’t even realize that when they listen to her music,” she said, retrieving her remote and turning on her cd player.
Neither of them said anything. Their eyes did the talking. He rubbed the smooth skin on her face, then cupped her chin, before kissing her. Every nerve in her body was jumpy and on fire. Her house phone rang a few times, but she ignored it. She heard Angie’s voice on it. Angie wasn’t yelling or sounding as if she was in any kind of trouble, so she continued to enjoy her embrace and kiss from Tony. He leaned his body on top hers. As he felt her curves her body became more and more tense. When his hand went between her legs, she began to slightly close her thighs. He gave her a questionable look.
“Do you want me to stop? Is something wrong, Karla?” he asked.
She’d held on to her precious virginity for a reason. That reason was to give it to the man who married her and the man who she would have children with. The more she thought about her life and the pace of things, her virginity may not have been taken until she was almost forty. She figured it was time to know what it was all about. Her body wanted it. Her body craved it. No matter what happened or didn’t happen between her and Tony, she wanted it.
“No. Keep going,” she crooned, as she started to unbutton his shirt. His swimmer’s build was turning her on even more. When he slid his underwear off, his dick was average sized, but by her being a virgin, anything over five inches appeared to be big.
He removed her robe and gown. His hands massaged every inch of her. He didn’t go down on her, but nibbled on her throbbing nipples. When he got on top of her, she paused everything to retrieve the condom that she’d bought.
Her legs were trembling, furiously.
“Karla, are you sure?”
She couldn’t speak. She just nodded and closed her eyes.
She was extremely wet. He glided himself into her, filling every inch of her opening. She grunted and squeezed his pelvis.
“Ughh--”, she cried, as he moved in and out of her. His movements were slow and easy, while he kissed her neck and whispered in her ear.
“You’re so tight, baby. Oh, you feel so good!” he groaned.
The pleasure of the pain she felt was dynamic. It was weird, that something that hurt so bad could feel so good. He inched deeper into her, touching the very back of her pussy. She hollered and dug her nails into his pelvis. He could feel her slightly pushing him back, whenever he tried to go deep. Her guttural and intense cries started to concern him.
“Does it hurt you?” he asked.
“N-no,” she lied.
He was very gentle. His slow, grinding movements brought her to the brink of an orgasm. She lost control as she came. The rhythmic contractions of her extra tight pussy made him cum hard. He kissed her once more, then rolled over on his back, his body drenching with sweat.
He held her afterward. She felt brand new. The experience was wonderful and she loved every minute of it. Even the pain.
They lied together, in an awkward silence. So many questions were swimming through his mind. His eyebrows were furrowed with curiosity.
"Is something wrong?" she asked.
"Uh, no. Not at all, beautiful," he lied.
She didn't want to talk about what had just happened, even though she liked it. Just as he was confused, she was drowning in a sea of emotions. Embarrassed, elated, pleased, womanly, awkward, and relieved.
"I- I have to get up in the morning. Early," she whispered to him an hour later.
"Okay. So do I. I have a couple of meetings that I have to attend, so, I guess I'll be going," he kissed her cheek.
At her front door, they embraced and kissed again. The orgasm induced weakness in her knees intensified, but she maintained her balance.
"Will I see you later?" he asked.
"I don't see why not," she replied.
A couple days had gone by and Tony had been calling repeatedly. She deliberately missed another Bible class to avoid him.
Finally, he decided to go to her house. He knocked for what seemed like an eternity, before she answered. She’d seen him through her window, but was afraid to face him. She knew that she couldn’t keep hiding from him and avoiding him. Especially since she didn't pull her car into the garage. She swallowed her fears and opened the door. His handsome face was overtook by a sad and worried expression.
“May I talk to you, please?”
“Sure. C’mon in,” she fully opened the door and allowed him to come in.
He didn’t sit down. He stood silently, with the same expression on his face, looking into her hazel eyes.
“I tried calling you here, your cell phone, your work, but you wont return my calls. Karla, baby, if I did something wrong, would you please tell me?”
She sighed, then plopped down on her sofa. “You haven’t done anything wrong, Tony. It’s me. I’m the one that’s having issues right now.”
“Issues? What kind of issues? I mean, I’m here for you. Why wont you just let me help you?”
“I mean, because they aren’t the kind of issues you can solve or help me solve, Tony.”
“I don’t mean to sound rude or like I’m trying to be funny, but, I need to know something," he started.
She already knew what he was going to ask. She felt her body tense with anxiety.
"What is it, Tony?" she asked.
"Karla, this may sound like a dumb question, but-," he sighed before finishing, "Had you ever been with anyone before?”
She was silent for a long moment before answering him. “Honestly, Tony, no. I haven’t been with anyone. Until now.”
He held her closer. “If you think I’m going to leave now, or play any games with you, just relax. I want to stick around.”
It was all happening too fast. She didn’t have time for a man. She was too into her career and living life as she knew it- independently. Just because they had sex didn’t mean she wanted a commitment
.
"Stick around in what way Tony? Because I don't need a relationship just because we had sex," she blurted out.
"And I'm not saying that, Karla. Just- just let me be in your life," he sat down next to her. “Try me,” he grabbed her hand.
“I- I don’t know about a relationship right now, Tony. After we made love the other night, part of me enjoyed it very much. Another part of me was afraid. I‘m afraid of trusting and the commitment aspect of a relationship. I haven‘t been in a relationship for a long time. The one‘s I‘ve had were short lived, because I wasn‘t giving it up. You were the first man to ever touch my body. Ever. And I guess I- I guess I just got scared.” she said.
“Oh, Karla, I’m so sorry you feel this way, sweetie. I- I would never hurt you. I want to be with you,” he said.
“I just don’t see myself having time for a relationship right now. I’ve been on my own for so long, without dealing with anyone. I just think that going the extra mile and actually committing to you would be way more than I can handle right now. Can we please take it slow?” she looked at him.
He grabbed her other hand, turning to face her. “ Karla, if that’s what it takes to make you happy and to be with you, we can take it slow. I‘ll do whatever it takes.”
Chapter 25
Angie
“Claire, I need you to forward all incoming calls to my voicemail today,” Angie said.
“No problem, Ang. How are things going?”
“Oh, you know. It’s Monday,” she giggled. “Gotta get this new project underway.”
“Yeah, I know the feeling. I’ll do that for you,” she said.
“Thanks, Claire. Talk to you later.”
Terrence Hardaway wasn’t at work that day and all Angie could think about is how she wanted to tell him that his down low status had been revealed. She would’ve felt more than redeemed to tell him about the gossip she’d heard about him.
She went to the ladies room. While she was standing at the mirror, making sure her hair was still looking flawless, she saw Tamisha’s reflection behind her.
She didn’t bother to turn around or say a word to her.
“Morning, Angie,” Tamisha said in that irritating ,squeaky voice.
“Hi, Tamisha,” she said, without so much as looking at her.
Tamisha stood and watched Angie run a comb through her long, hair and apply some lip gloss.
“You need something?” Angie was annoyed.
“I was just going to tell you that I know you may think that I talk about you with Cecelia, but I don’t. She’s the one that talks about you. She doesn’t like you because she says you were dating a guy that her sister was engaged to.”
Angie whirled around. “What are you talking about?”
“Cecelia’s sister. Melissa White. She’s supposed to be engaged to that Whitmore guy. The lawyer. And Cecilia says she doesn’t like you because you are trying to stop their engagement.”
Angie’s eyes squinted with fury. “Is that so?”
“I just thought I would let you know that I don’t have anything against you,” Tamisha said.
Angie trusted no one. The mere fact that Tamisha came to her, talking about Cecelia, and was just buddy buddy with her just weeks before, was fishy. Apparently they didn’t know who they were messing with. Angela Marie Pierce was THE HEAD BITCH IN CHARGE, next to Andrew Devoe, and she would see to it that neither Cecelia nor Tamisha be on CoreComm International Advertising’s payroll from that day forward.
“Thanks, Tamisha,” she pasted a friendly, but devious smile on her face.
Later that day, Cecelia and Tamisha were called into the office of Mr. Nuvox and fired for insubordination, violation of company policy, and not meeting the standards expected for their work.
As they were leaving the building, Angie disarmed her Escalade truck.
“If you girls need to use me as a reference for new jobs, feel free,” she giggled.
They looked at each other, smacked their lips, and got into a beat up 1999 Honda Accord, together.
“Ghetto bitches,” Angie said as she started her engine. “I thought you knew! I’m Angela fuckin Pierce!” she laughed maniacally all the way to Daphne’s shop to tell her about it.
Chapter 26
Roni
It was 3:25 on the nose, and Johnny still hadn’t came in to work. Roni had Mona to call him twice. No answer.
“I’ll stay and cover the shift, Mona. You go on home,” Roni said.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, those few days off was good enough. I couldn’t wait to get back here. You held it down like I knew you would. Go on home, girlfriend, “ she said.
“Alright. See you later,” Mona left for the day.
In between taking care of guests and completing the second shift checklist, Roni called Johnny three times and left voicemails for him to at least call her and let her know if he was alright. He didn’t.
Once she got home, she checked her messages. There were three.
Message number one: “Hey girl, It’s me, Ang. You wont believe what the hell happened at work today. Call me, girl!”
Message number two: “Hey, it’s Daphne. Girl, Angie is crazy! Did she tell you about those bitches on her job? Anyway, I want you to meet Jas tomorrow if you have time. I’ll call you when I get to work tomorrow.”
Message number three: “Hey Roni, it’s your sister. I just wanted to know if you could please loan me the money to get a plane ticket to Indianapolis. Kieran and Zahria are going with me. I wanna get away from South Central to go and visit a friend. I just need a break. I am going to try you back soon to see if you can help me. Love you.”
Damn it! No message from Johnny. Roni stood, speechless and worried. Firstly, her sister, Sabrina, hardly ever called, then when she did, it was only when she wanted money. If it wasn’t for her niece and nephew, Zahria and Kieran, she wouldn’t send Sabrina a dime. Secondly, she wondered if Johnny was just out for a piece of ass and pulled a disappearing act on her. All night long, she waited and waited for him to call back. She didn’t feel like hearing about Angie’s office gossip, but called her anyway, for a distraction. Angie told her everything that happened from A to Z.
She tried to sleep, but couldn’t. After four a.m , she figured he wasn’t going to call her. She lied down and tried to force herself to get an hour and a half of needed sleep, before going to work.
At some point she fell asleep. When her alarm clock beeped, she felt as if she’d just closed her eyes. She forced herself out of bed to begin her day.
At work, she was cordial and professional with her guests. On the inside, she felt like crap. She was also still worried about Johnny. She hoped he would call the hotel, during her shift. He didn’t. His name wasn’t on the schedule for that night, but he still could have called her.
She attempted to call him when she got in her car to leave work for the day. No answer. Her last resort was to go to his apartment. When she pulled up in front of it, his car was there. She got out and knocked for almost five minutes. She reluctantly got back in her car, and drove to the grocery store, feeling empty. Maybe he did only want her for the one thing he got from her.
Chapter 27
Angie
“I’ll be there, next Friday dad. I’m only staying the weekend, though,” Angie giggled. “ I know you want me to come home for good, but dad, how many times do I have to tell you I’m not coming home to stay. Atlanta is home,” she was still giggling.
“Okay. Give mom my love. I’ll call you guys Thursday night before I leave. Okay. Love you, too. Bye.”
She shook her head, still smiling about her dad’s usual attempts to get her to move back home. This time he used bribery. He offered to buy her a new home. Just as she stepped outside to leave the house, her cell phone rang. It was Brandon. Her pulse rate soared through the roof. Her adrenaline was in overdrive. She answered anyway.
“What do you want?” she said coolly.
“Now, is that a
ny way to talk to a friend?” he ignored her tone.
“Brandon, what the fuck do you want?”
“Wow! Is this a bad time. You know, I can call you back,”
“No, you can’t call me back. Tell me what you want right now!” she demanded.
“I just wanted to see how you were doing. Is that a crime?” he remained calm. She almost relented to the smooth, sexy sound of his voice.
“Why do you want to know how I’m doing? You should be more worried about Melissa.”
“That’s also one of the reasons I’m calling you,” he said.
“Oh?” she was curious about where this one was going.
“ Can you meet me for dinner? I’d love to sit down and be able to tell you-”, he began.
“Nope. I’m busy. All week. So tell me now,” she rushed him.
“Okay, okay. Melissa was never pregnant. She lied to me. She’s also been seeing someone behind my back. The bitch! I can’t believe her. Then she had the nerve to follow me to your house and cause a scene like that. The wedding is off. I told her to find someone else to play her psychotic games with,” he said.
“I’m so sorry, Brandon,” Angie said sarcastically.
“C’mon, Angie, you and I have a history. I was thinking that maybe we could start over again,” he said.
“Hold on, let me think. HELL NO! and don’t fuckin’ call my number or contact me in any kind of way ever again! No emails, no nothing! If you do, I’ll have your ass, Brandon Whitmore! You think you’re so much because your father owns that fuckin law firm and you’ve got women dropping at your feet. Well, you don’t have this one anymore. You promised me a funky ass trip to Hawaii, while you took a two point o upgraded version hood rat to the Cayman Islands! Not only once, but twice! and you know what? I'm going to book a flight and I'm going to the Cayman Islands myself. I deserve it! I'm beautiful. I'm paid. And most of all, I can get any man I want. I just don't want you! So, kiss my ass and GOOD RIDDANCE!” she exclaimed angrily. She hung up the phone feeling like jumping straight to the moon. Elation was an understatement. She knew the dirty dog would come crawling back. Only this time, she got the chance to shut him down. Once and for all.
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