Just Can't Get Enough

by Hodges, Cheris

  “Morning, Celina. Just look at that hair,” she said as she stroked Celina’s hair. “Where are you headed this morning?”

  “Down to the lake. I’m going to draw for a while. We don’t have this kind of nature in the city,” she said.

  Velma smiled. “Well, have fun,” she said as Celina headed out the door. “I’ll take good care of your daddy while you’re gone.”

  Celina got in her car and headed for the lake, not paying any attention to the car following her down the road.

  Darius tried to focus on the inventory count, but his mind kept wandering to Celina and the day that he’d have to watch her walk out of his life. She made it clear that she was going back to New York. Maybe he could let Richard run the store and he could go with her and return to practicing law. Certainly some of the firms that had wooed him when he was in Washington would love to have him on their staffs. Then again, with as much time as had passed, he probably wasn’t even a blip on their radars anymore. Darius dropped a box of nails, causing the sharp tacks to fall all over the floor. Swearing under his breath, he kneeled down to clean up the mess. He needed to get his head back into business, but with all that had been going on lately, he couldn’t focus on one thing for too long.

  Richard rushed over to help pick up the nails. “Darius, what’s going on with you?” he asked.

  A grunt was the only reply Darius gave the older man.

  “Is Tiffany still giving you problems?”

  Darius nodded and closed his eyes. “That’s the least of my worries right now. I think Celina’s going to be leaving soon and I’m wondering if I should go with her.”

  Richard ran his hand over his face. “What about this place? You came here to keep your family’s legacy alive. Love is grand and all of that, but shutting this place down would be like a slap in the face to your parents. They trusted you with this place.”

  “I know, but I love that woman,” he said. “I can’t see my life without Celina in it.”

  Richard nodded and looked at his young boss. “How does Celina feel about this? Has she asked you to give up everything for her?”

  “We haven’t really talked about it. I do know I’m not going to let her walk out of my life.”

  “You really love her, don’t you?”

  Darius nodded. “More than I’ve ever loved any other woman.”

  Richard smiled. “Then, youngblood, you need to tell Celina how you feel and let her know that you want to move to New York with her. If she loves you as much as I think she does, she’s not going to want to give this up.” Richard stood up and looked at Darius. “So, I guess this place is going to close down after all?”

  Darius shook his head. “No, not if you agree to run it for me. I mean, you’re just like family.”

  Richard smiled. “I would be honored. Are you sure this is what you want? You said you wanted to get away from the big city and New York is as big as it gets.”

  Darius sighed. Richard was right, he’d had his fill of the fast lane; but if he couldn’t get Celina to stay, then he was going to have to go with her. Darius’s cell phone rang before he could reply to Richard. He looked down to see who was calling, but the number was blocked.

  “Hello?” he said.

  “She’s not cute,” Tiffany said. “She’s not attractive at all. All of that nappy hair. Is that what you want, Darius? I mean she can’t hold a candle to me.”

  “What are you talking about and why are you still calling me?”

  “I’m talking about your new woman,” she replied. “Wouldn’t it be a shame if she fell in the lake and drowned?” Tiffany laughed and Darius’s blood ran cold.

  “Tiffany, don’t do anything foolish. Leave Celina alone.”

  “Celina. That’s her name?” Tiffany said. “Wonder how it will look on a slate stone?”

  “Tiffany,” he said. There was no response. Darius looked at his phone and it said call ended. Rushing to his car, he had to get to Celina before Tiffany did something to hurt her. Richard called his name, but Darius didn’t hear him because his single focus was getting to the lake and stopping Tiffany’s bullshit. If anything happened to Celina, he’d never be able to live with himself and would more than likely spend the rest of his life in jail because he’d kill Tiffany if she hurt the woman he loved.

  Darius drove like a maniac to the lake, running through stop signs, turning down alleys, and driving across empty fields. Once he arrived, he saw Celina’s rental car parked on the side of the road. He pulled his car behind hers and dashed out of the car and scanned the area for her along the banks. When he didn’t see her, his heart plummeted to the bottom of his stomach. Was he too late? Had Tiffany done something? Darius ran through the gate leading to the lake.

  “Celina!! Celina, where are you?”

  He heard a rustling in the bushes. Darius whirled around and looked to see what was making the noise. A small rabbit came hopping out of the bushes. Darius swore and continued walking along the bank of the lake. “Celina!” Darius looked down on the ground and saw her sketch pad. Darius picked it up and looked at the drawing. It was of the lake and it looked as if she was drawing a man and woman coming out of the center of the lake. Darius was really worried now. He looked down in the water and saw a pencil floating in the water. Darius started taking his shoes and shirt off so that he could dive into the water and search for Celina. Then he heard a splash. He looked up and saw Celina swimming to the shore. She stood up when she reached the shallow water, revealing her black lace bra and matching panties.

  “Darius, what are you doing here?” she asked.

  “Looking for you,” he said, unable to take his eyes off her wet body. “Have you seen anyone around here?”

  “How did you even know I was here? I thought you were working at the store today?” she asked.

  Darius looked at Celina, trying to make sure she wasn’t hurt.

  “Darius,” she said, touching him on the shoulder. “What’s going on, baby?”

  “Tiffany called. She was out here watching you.” Darius saw Celina shiver. “I don’t want you traveling alone,” he continued. “I don’t know what kind of games Tiffany’s playing or what she might do. I don’t want to take that risk.”

  “Darius, wait, I understand what you’re trying to do, but I’m not going to become a prisoner in my own hometown because of this woman. I live in New York. I can take care of myself.”

  “Celina, you didn’t even know she was here. How can you take care of yourself when you don’t know what the threat is? You shouldn’t swim alone, anyway.”

  “You know what the threat is? This woman is crazy and nothing is going to stop her unless she gets what she wants or one of us stands up to her. I’m not going to let that woman rule my life,” Celina said.

  “I don’t want to see you hurt. If anything ever happened to you I would never . . .”

  She flung her hair back and faced Darius. “Nothing’s going to happen to me and I won’t hide from that woman.” Celina pulled her shirt over her head. “You will not run my life!” she yelled out across the lake. “You may play crazy, Tiffany, but you don’t scare me.”

  Darius pulled Celina into his arms. “I’m not going to let her and I’m not going to lose you, either,” he said. A rustling in the bushes made Darius and Celina turn around. The same white rabbit came hopping into the clearning. Neither of them noticed the crouching figure in the bushes. Celina gathered her clothes and sketch pad. Then she and Darius walked to their cars.

  “Why did you take a swim without a towel?” he asked.

  “Well, I hadn’t been in Lake Elmore in so long, I couldn’t resist. Besides,” she said as she popped the trunk. “I was a Girl Scout, I’m always prepared.” She pulled out a bath towel and dried her legs before slipping into her pants. Darius leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.

  “All right, Girl Scout.”

  “Darius, I’ve been giving some more thought to your idea about an art gallery.”

  Hi
s heartbeat sped up. Was she going to stay in Elmore? “I like the idea,” she continued. “I really like it and I think we should start planning it.”

  Darius wanted to scream at the top of lungs. She was staying. “Yeah, we can start scouting some places and everything.”

  Celina hugged Darius. “I love you,” she said. “Thank you for doing this for me.”

  “I haven’t done anything yet,” he said.

  Celina shook her head. “You have,” she said, kissing him on the cheek. “I’ve got to get home and finish this painting. Maybe we can come back here tonight and do a little skinny-dipping.”

  Darius smirked. “You’re a bad girl, aren’t you? Under all that sugar, there’s a lot of spice.”

  Celina winked at him as she got into the car. “Meet me here at nine and I’m going to redefine spicy,” she said. “And if Tiffany’s still watching us, she’s going to get quite a show.”

  “How about I drive you here tonight?” Darius said, still a little wary about Tiffany stalking Celina.

  “Fine,” she said. “But Tiffany isn’t going to be a problem for us. I won’t let her.”

  “I hope you’re right,” he said as he watched the white bunny hop across the road.

  When Celina got home, she dashed into the house to get her painting supplies before heading outside to start on her painting. Thomas and Velma were sitting on the sofa when she walked in. Thomas dropped his arm from around her shoulder when Celina walked in. “Don’t mind me,” she said as she headed for the bedroom. Celina wanted her father to be as happy as she was and since she knew her parents would never be a couple again, she didn’t mind his budding romance with Velma. It was cute to see them together.

  She changed out of her damp clothes and put on her paint-stained overalls, then grabbed her easel and headed outside with her canvas, her paint set, and her sketch pad. She set up her easel and then started painting. She began painting the powder-blue background to mimic the Carolina sky. She used a darker blue to paint Lake Elmore. Celina took out her felt-tip pen and began drawing the figures of the man and woman jutting from the middle of the lake. As she created the man’s face, she couldn’t help but think of Darius. She began drawing his features on the man, captured his eyes, including the twinkle in his eyes when he smiled, his dark wavy hair, thick eyebrows, luscious lips, and smooth skin. Celina decided to have the woman’s face turned to the man’s chest. Celina filled out her body and gave the woman long, flowing hair that looked wind-blown. At the last minute, she decided to turn the woman’s legs into a fish tail. Celina began filling in the color of the man and the woman. She captured Darius’s cocoa complexion by mixing burnt sienna oil paint with a hint of yellow to create his coloring. She colored the woman’s hair midnight black and gave her a complexion about two shades lighter than Darius’s. She then colored the fish tail blue-green. With a fine brush, she used a white paint to add the scales to the tail. Celina was so engrossed in her work that she didn’t hear Darius walk up behind her. “Wow,” he said. Celina turned around and dropped her paintbrush.

  “Okay, you scared me,” she said.

  “I didn’t mean to. This is awesome,” he said staring at Celina’s work. “I’ve never seen you at work before.”

  Celina turned her back to the painting. “I don’t like people seeing my work before it’s done,” she said as she stretched her arms out.

  “Why? Because you’re drawing me again?” Darius said standing on his tiptoes to look over her shoulder.

  Celina flung some paint on him. “Stop trying to look,” she said.

  Darius looked down at the paint stain on his shirt. “Oh, Miss Lady, you’re going to pay for this,” Darius said as he picked up a tube of paint and squeezed it on the front of Celina’s overalls. She threw her hands up to stop the assault of blue paint. She walked toward Darius and grabbed his hands.

  “You jerk!” she said as she turned the paint back on him. Darius wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off her feet, then flipped her onto the ground. Celina pulled Darius down on top of her.

  “Once again, I will say it. You don’t play fair, Darius McRae,” she said.

  “That’s right,” he replied before capturing her mouth with his. Celina wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her. The cold paint seeped through their clothes and onto their skin. She slipped her hands underneath his T-shirt, kneading his skin as if it were wet clay. She rolled over so that she could be on top of Darius. She could feel his arousal through his jeans. Darius nibbled at her chin, causing her to melt against him like an ice cream cone on the hot sidewalk.

  “Darius,” she moaned. “It’s broad daylight, what will the neighbors say?”

  “Who cares?” he replied before raining kisses down her neck.

  Celina mustered all the strength in her body to push away from Darius. “My father is in there,” she said, her face flushing with excitement and embarrassment. She rose to her feet and returned to her painting. “Besides, we have a date tonight, remember?”

  Darius walked up behind her and encircled her waist with his arms. “I can’t wait until tonight,” he said as his lips brushed across the back of her neck. Celina dropped her paintbrush in midstroke.

  “Will you stop it?” she said as she turned around and painted a mustache across his face. Darius laughed and then kissed her, leaving a trail of brown paint across her face. “So, is this how you create all of your masterpieces?” he asked. “We look like kindergarteners who just finished finger painting.”

  Celina rubbed in a spot of paint on his cheek. “You wear it well,” she said, then kissed him on the forehead. “Do you want to have dinner before we head to the lake?”

  Darius nodded. “I’m going to get cleaned up and I’ll see you later,” he said before playfully slapping her on the bottom. Celina smiled as Darius walked away, then returned to her painting. Before she knew it, the sun was setting in the distance and she was finished with her painting. She stood back and looked at her work. Calling it inspired was an understatement. Celina thought this was one of her best paintings. She was going to call it H2Love.

  CHAPTER 16

  Darius stared at Celina through his kitchen window. He watched the way she moved, the strokes she made on the canvas. No wonder her touch was so electrifying to him. Celina made broad strokes on the canvas, reminding him of the loving strokes that she lavished on him when they lay together in bed. Watching her at work showed him that Celina didn’t do anything halfway and when she threw her heart and soul into something, it was beautiful when it was finished.

  That’s going to be us. We’re going to have a beautiful life and as soon as we get rid of Tiffany there will be nothing standing in our way, he thought with a sardonic smile. Why would that woman just go away? Darius didn’t understand how a mind like Tiffany’s worked. She was attractive enough to find someone else, but she had an unhealthy obsession with him and just as he’d told the police chief, she was out of control. Anyone who looked at him when he was with Celina knew that there was no other woman for him. Tiffany needed to learn that as well.

  Darius continued watching Celina and as she stood back, admiring her work, he admired her. The way she filled out those denim overalls, the round shape of her derriere, her arms with their strong lines, and her striking face. She was the true work of art, not what she had put on the canvas. Darius didn’t want anything to happen to her and he was going to do everything he could to keep her safe. He picked up the phone and called Chief Wayman.

  “Chief,” the man said when he picked up the phone.

  “Chief Wayman, it’s Darius.”

  “Oh, Mr. McRae, it’s been a full week since I’ve heard from you. I was hoping this thing had blown over. What’s happening now?” he said flatly.

  Darius rolled his eyes upward at the chief’s cavalier attitude. “Look, I know you think everything with Tiffany is a lover’s quarrel, but she made a threat against Celina and you need to keep an eye on her.”

&
nbsp; The chief coughed into the phone. “Maybe it’s just the talk of a scorned woman. Darius, I’m sick of you and Tiffany, all right. Buy that woman some flowers and let her down easily and leave me alone. This isn’t a police matter.”

  “Chief, if she does something to Celina, I won’t be responsible for what happens to her. She’s resorted to stalking me and Celina and if I have to go above your head, I will. I’ll call the feds, the state law enforcement division, anyone,” Darius barked.

  He heard what sounded like a fork clanking against a plate. “Fine, I’ll keep an eye on her. But if this is more of y’all’s shenanigans, I’m going to throw both of you in a holding cell and beat you with a rubber hose.”

  Darius hung up the phone and rolled his eyes. Does he think this is a damned joke? That woman is unstable and if he doesn’t do something soon, I’m going to take this matter into my own hands. His new mission was going to be to know every step Celina made. It was one thing for Tiffany to come after him, but she’d crossed the line by threatening Celina. He’d lay down his own life before he’d allow Tiffany to hurt Celina.

  Darius decided that he’d have to hire a private eye, even if he had to get one from Columbia. Glancing out the window, he watched Celina make her way into her house with the painting. Thinking that someone was lurking in the shadows, he rushed out of his house, leapt over the fence and rushed to what he thought was a crouching figure in the bushes. It turned out to be a stray dog. Darius’s heart was beating one thousand times per minute. He had to get back to his house before someone saw him. As he was leaving, the back door opened. “Darius McRae, what are you doing back here?” Velma Henderson, Thomas’s nurse, asked.

  “Hi, Ms. Henderson, I thought I saw someone lurking in the bushes.”

  The woman smiled and headed for her car. “You’re protective of that girl, aren’t you?” she said as she opened her car door. “Just make sure I’m invited to the wedding.”

  “All right, Ms. H.,” he said as he headed back to his house and Velma got into her car and started it. Darius watched her from his porch as she backed out of the driveway. He sighed and headed inside. Before he could change his clothes, the phone rang.