by Emma Vikes
“Confused? What did you think I was going to do? Drag you by the hair for dating such a fine man who is the toast of the whole university? Damn girl. You really are the MVP,” Carol continued, still laughing.
“So you aren’t judging me? You know it’s a taboo relationship right?”
“Girl please! Judge you for what? Hell if I wasn’t in a relationship myself, I’d have gone for the man myself.” She laughed again. “Girl that man is fiiiiiiiiine! Damn! Oh and by the way, I’m sort of in a taboo relationship myself so I kinda understand what you’re going through.” She finished with a smirk.
“No way,” I exclaimed. “Tell me,” I shrieked.
“Not before you tell me about Professor Howard.” She responded with arched brows.
I laughed then, the first time in over a week and it felt good. How I had worried about Carol not being my ally after my confession was beyond me. The girl had been nothing but awesome since we arrived on campus. She was a genius of African-American descent and was as beautiful and easy going as they come. We had become fast friends and then roommates. There was no way she wasn’t going to be in my corner as she’d been there from the beginning.
“Well…” I began before proceeding to reel out every last detail of what had transpired between Howard and me.
“Dang girl! You even freakier than I thought. In the men’s room?” she had mocked, causing us to burst into laughter once more.
When I finally got to the part that involved David, I pulled out my phone and showed her the video. A low whistle escaped her lips when she was done watching.
“You right girl. This asshole’s got you cornered,” she exclaimed. “Don’t tell me you gonna let David get away with it and allow Howard to slip through your fingers though. Men like that only come our way once every century.”
“I was, because I didn’t know any better. I thought it was the best thing to do to protect Howard. But then David confronted me this morning when I was about to approach Howard and now I’m mad. I’m gonna make him pay,” I responded, getting a little bit heated at the memory.
“I got you girl. And I’ve got just the perfect plan. You interested?”
I was shocked. I had spent 3 hours thinking of what to do and Carol already had one within minutes of hearing about my dilemma.
“I’m listening,” I responded animatedly.
“Well, David’s not going to let you go just like that. He’s intoxicated with the control he now has over you. You are going to need to get something on him as incriminating as what he has on you. That’s the only way to break his hold on you without affecting Howard.”
“Go ahead,” I said, my entire focus was now on what she was saying.
“I knew this girl back in high school…”
I listened as Carol reeled out a plan that I had settled on before she’d walked in. The only difference was I had made a plan and she had not only made a similar plan, but already knew how it was going to be executed. David had no idea what was about to hit him.
Carol finished with the details of her plan and asked me, “So what do you think?”
“I love it,” I responded simply.
“Girl I knew you would,” she responded, causing us to laugh once more.
“So tell me about your taboo relationship. Or did you think I have forgotten?” I queried.
She laughed again.
“I knew I liked you from the first time I saw you. Well if you must know, I’m in a relationship with my dad’s best friend.”
“No way!” I shrieked.
Chapter 22
Susan
Carol had taken the reins from me. She had become so invested in sticking up to David that one would have thought it was she and not I that had been blackmailed.
“I hate guys that think and act that way,” she’d said over and over again.
“Don’t worry girl. I got you. No one messes with my girl and gets away scot-free,” she’d also said repeatedly.
She’d called the girl in question and put everything in place in order to ensnare David. He was going to fall hard and wouldn’t know what had happened till he was in too deep and couldn’t get himself out. Everything had gone according to plan and whenever I showed signs of getting antsy, Carol had calmed me down.
“Relax girl. I seen your man moping around campus like a lost puppy. That man is smitten with you. He ain’t going anywhere. All this will be over soon and y’all could be in each other’s arms once more, tearing up them sheets if you wanted.”
I always laughed before asking whether she was sure about that being the outcome.
“Trust me girl. I’m sure. Y’all just better be careful after this. No more freakiness in no men’s room no more.”
I always laughed but, in the end, she’d always succeeded in calming me down.
I really had no idea what I would have done or how I would have proceeded without Carol. And she was right about Howard. The few times I had seen him around, he was completely sullen and morose. I should never have doubted his love for me. He was suffering as much as I was.
‘Soon my love all this will be over.’
David had finally taken the bait a week after we’d left it hanging. He’d seen Carol’s friend and gone after her like a dog in heat. And so began a carefully planned out game of drawing him in. He’d kept on holding on to the bait as Carol and her friend reeled the line in.
He’d gone practically everywhere with Carol’s friend - dinner dates, the movies, the beach. Once, while the plot was in play, Carol had asked me to test his resolve and whether he was still interested in blackmailing me.
I had asked him to meet me so we could talk. He’d done so and everything was fine until I suggested I would do anything to get that video deleted. The bastard had said the only way that was going to happen was if I slept with him. It had taken all of my self-control to stay cool. When I had declined his offer, he had stood up and mocked me saying the video was going to remain in his possession.
I had sat there fuming long after he had gone, until Carol had come to meet me. When I’d told her what had transpired, she’d simply laughed.
“What’s funny?” I had sounded irritated.
“Don’t worry girl. I had a reason for asking you to meet him and request a resolution. Wanted to show you the kind of animal we are dealing with so you don’t have second thoughts when the time comes,” she responded.
“Second thoughts? That asshole has made me a prisoner and kept me away from Howard. There is never going to be a hesitation with me when the time comes.”
“Good. Keep that anger, cause we are about to set the ball rolling.”
“Phase 2 of the plan?” I asked expectantly.
“Yes darling. Phase 2 begins now.”
Phase 1 was to bait David and reel him in. Phase 2 was where the main execution of the plan lay. If all went according to plan, I’d have something incriminating on David as well, thus forcing his hand to set me free.
Carol had picked up her phone and called her friend. They’d spoken briefly, after which she’d hung up and we’d left the diner.
That night, Carol and her friend were to meet David at the club. The plan was simple: get David cozy with Kimberly and have him drunk high enough at the club so as to easily make him extremely seduced and sexually attracted towards Kimberly. She’d gone on to explain what would happen thereafter.
“He’s going to get so seduced he won’t be able to control himself. By the time he begins to grope at Kimberly, she will subtly suggest they go back to her place so they can continue in the privacy of her bedroom. When they get there, she’s going to tell him that she’s no longer interested in having sex and that she wants to just go to bed. I predict he will want to have his way forcefully with her going by how much attracted he will be by Kimberly’s sexy figure and exposing attire and also for the fact that how much drunk he will be.”
“And if he doesn’t try to forcefully have his way with her? What happens then?” I’d quer
ied.
“Have a little faith darling. He will try going by the kind of man he is. If he doesn’t try this time, we keep repeating the processes till he does and then we have it on tape seeing as there will be a camera in Kimberly’s bedroom, recording the whole act.”
“And how do we stop him from doing that with Kimberly? Or is she going to allow herself to do so by him all so I can get video evidence against him?” I asked, because that part didn’t sit well with me.
“Kimberly is a big girl. She can handle herself. Trust me.”
“Trust you?”
“Yes dear. Trust me.”
They’d gone on to the club and left me at home biting my nails. As a result of the excitement, I remained awake long after my usual bedtime. I was still awake by the time Carol got back.
“How did it go?” I immediately pounced on her.
She had chuckled lightly, her tiredness glaring.
“Went smoothly, darling. We’ll have what we need by the dawning of the day,” she had responded weakly, already heading for her bed.
As promised, the video had emerged sometime around 9 am in the morning. Kimberly had sent it to Carol’s phone. She’d woken me up elated.
“Did you ever doubt me girl?” she shrieked.
As I watched the video she was showing me, the answer to her question continued to roll around in my mind.
‘Wow! I should never have questioned you Carol.’
Forget destroying David’s reputation, what I was watching would definitely get him jail time if it went public. And as promised, Kimberly had handled herself pretty well. I looked at Carol when the video got to the part where she whopped David’s ass.
“She’s knows karate.” Carol chuckled.
“Wow!” I said as we both burst out laughing.
I picked up my phone and sent David a message stating that we needed to see each other. In order to make sure that he appeared, the message said I had rethought his offer and I wanted us to discuss it.
His response came through almost immediately.
‘The idiot. You just had your ass handed to you barely 24 hours ago and you still want to get in the sack immediately. You’re in for a rude awakening.’
Carol had insisted on coming with me so as to make sure there was no shifty business on David’s part. One hour later and we walked into the same diner where I had met David the last time. He was already seated and wearing shades to hide the bruises around his eye that Kimberly had inflicted on him.
When he saw Carol, he immediately stood up from his seat in confusion.
“Sit your ass down, fool,” Carol barked even before we had arrived properly at the table.
He sat back down more out of shock than fear. He obviously couldn’t understand how Carol, who was friends with Kimberly, was with me.
“You both know each other?” he stuttered as we sat down.
“Hello David,” I said simply, mimicking the smirk he had given me in the park. “I’m going to ask you one last time to delete that video of me and Professor Jones,” I finished.
“Or else what?” he asked nervously, his voice lacking the annoying arrogance it had possessed in the past.
“Or else you’ll find what we’ve got to show you pretty interesting,” Carol interjected.
She pulled out her laptop and turned it to face David.
“You can press play anytime you wish to,” I said in jest.
He hesitated.
“Anytime meaning now David. We ain’t got all day,” Carol snapped.
He hit the play button and the video of his attempted endeavor on Kimberly began playing. The volume had been set loud enough for us to be able to hear even though the laptop screen was turned away from us, but not loud enough for anyone else to know what he was watching.
He winced repeatedly as the video played, glancing up at me at intervals and meeting the same smirk on my face. When the video had finished, he continued staring at the laptop screen, completely dazed.
Carol reached out then and retrieved the laptop.
I, on the other hand, pulled out my phone and sent him a copy of the video from my phone.
“You’ve got mail,” Carol mocked when she heard David’s phone beep. He obviously knew I’d just sent him the video as he didn’t bother to open it.
“What do you want?” he queried, the anger in his voice clear.
“Well for starters, now that you’ve watched the video, you can tell even with your layman knowledge of the law that if it goes public, forget your reputation; your ass is going to jail,” Carol snapped.
He turned and looked at me, his eyes pleading. “Please,” he said. “Please don’t do this. I’ll do anything you want.”
The irony of the whole situation had me roaring with laughter. I finally settled down and my face went stern in the blink of an eye.
“I don’t care what you do David. Just know that if I ever see that video you took of me and the professor, anywhere other than my phone, I’m going to be mailing Miami PD with this video,” I bellowed.
“I swear you won’t. I promise. The video is buried already. Please don’t do this to me,” he begged.
“One more thing asshole, if you ever come near Susan or Professor Howard again, I will be the one mailing Gainesville PD with the video. Test me at your peril,” Carol threatened.
He turned from her to look at me and was about to continue his plea.
“Have a nice life David,” I snapped, cutting him short.
We stood then, Carol and me, and walked out of the diner.
“Now that’s done, what do you think we should do today?” Carol asked as we got outside and paused at the curb.
“We? Girl I’m going to get my man,” I responded in my best mimicry of her voice.
“You go girl!”
We both burst into laughter.
Chapter 23
Susan
I knocked on the front door of Howard’s mansion before the bell had even stopped ringing.
After leaving Carol at the diner, I had headed straight for Howard’s office. All the way there, I had tried his number over and over without getting a response. Either he was ignoring my calls, or he wasn’t around his phone. Whatever the case was, I needed to see him immediately, fall into his arms and tell him how much I loved him and would never let him go.
I’d gotten to his office and found out that he hadn’t come in today. The only place left to go was his house.
I’d jetted off the campus and now I was there, ringing, calling, knocking, waiting; waiting for the only man I’d ever truly loved to come and open the door to me.
I rang the bell again and this time pounded on the door even louder, till my hands began to hurt. I hadn’t battled David this hard only to still end up losing Howard. Despair was beginning to set in, further fueling my anxiousness.
‘What if he’s seeing my calls and choosing not to pick?’
‘What if he knows I’m the one at the door and choosing not to answer?’
‘What if the damage has already been done?’
‘What if I’ve lost him forever?’
I pounded furiously at that last thought and suddenly the door swung open with so much force that I stumbled forward to replace the vacant space that had been left by the now open door.
“Howard!” I said simply as I stood there, transfixed on him and at a loss for what else to say or do.
My mind had gone completely blank, as it had the first time I saw him.
And just as fast as my mind had gone blank, my resolve returned. I was here for one reason only: to get back my man.
His mouth began to form words as he made to speak. Suddenly I rushed forward and kissed him.
He tried to release his lips from mine which only made me kiss him harder, grabbing on to him for dear life. Eventually he stopped resisting and kissed me back. This caused my tear ducts to burst open.
“I’m sorry,” I began whispering in between kisses. “I’m so sorry,” I continued apol
ogizing as my tears flowed freely.
Without warning, he lifted me up and headed for the stairs. I didn’t care where he was taking me, as long as we went together. After he cleared the stairs, he turned left and headed for his room as I continued to kiss him.
I was still sobbing by the time we arrived at his room door. He kicked it open and headed straight for the bed, with me in his arms.
“It’s ok,” he finally said as we arrived at the bed and he began to lay me down gently.
“It’s ok, Susan. You are here now and that’s all that matters.” He bent over and kissed the streak of tears that had stained my cheeks.
Oh how I loved this man. I reached out and pulled him downwards. He obliged as he continued to kiss me all over my face; from my cheeks to my forehead to my nose and finally back to my lips.
His hands moved and cupped my breasts as he kissed me deeper. My response was immediate and demanding as well. I had missed him so much.
His hand found its way beneath my blouse and stroked my already erect nipples. I gasped as the resulting sensation ricocheted all over my body and ended up in a pool that was quickly forming between my legs.
His hands came up from under and began to pull my jeans away from my waist. I lifted my waist from the bed slightly to enable him easily peel my jeans from my legs. In a moment, I’d been freed from my jeans as his hand found its way beneath my panties. My eyes closed and a moan escaped my lips as his forefinger found my clit and began to stroke it gently. His finger worked slowly but determinedly as I began to squirm and moan repeatedly.
Suddenly his fingers freed my clit and he pulled my panties down in one lightning quick motion. My eyes were still closed but, as he parted my legs, my body tensed in anticipation, waiting to receive him into me. Instead of his penis, I felt his warm breath tickling my vagina. My eyes opened immediately and I looked downward to see what he was up to. I saw his head nestled in between my propped up legs and before I could protest, his tongue made contact with my clit causing my eyes to roll back in pleasure.
As his tongue lapped and licked at my clit, I felt the tension building between my legs, the same tension I knew was about to result in an explosion that would consume my whole body. My hands found their way downwards and held onto his head as my waist involuntarily lifted towards his assaulting tongue. I couldn’t understand the moans that were coming from my lips as pleasure threatened to ravage my body and mind.