“I’ve come for you,” he said. “I love you and I know you don’t love your husband.”
Anita batted her eyes. She took Nate in. He was dressed in a tan suit that hung on his body like it was sculpted on. He had on a pink tie from Hermès and a matching handkerchief. Her mind began to spin and her flesh was weak for him. She had told herself that she was fine as long as he stayed away. Day by day she had built her wall up with the notion that he’d probably found someone else.
Damn, she thought. He had just told her that he loved her. She had long since conceded to herself that she felt the same way about him. “I don’t know what to say, Nate.”
“Tell me you miss me too. Tell me that you’ll leave him and be with me. We’re soul mates.”
Anita took a deep breath. “Nate, you shouldn’t be here. If I promise to call you later, would you leave?”
He sensed desperation in her voice, not fear. She didn’t fear being caught with him. It was just that she couldn’t stand being so close to him. While he stood there, she began thinking of all that had transpired between them. They had shared so much, and for the first time she had fallen for a man both physically and emotionally. Nate was her it. But she needed him to leave before she begged him to take her away.
“I won’t leave without you. If I do, I’ll never hear from you. Baby, listen, you don’t need this. You don’t need him. There’s nothing for you to worry about. I’ll treat you right…love you a lifetime. Plus, I have enough money to take real good care of you. Just leave with me now. We can go get your things and never look back.”
Anita stood there in silence. Nate’s eyes pored over her body. Her face, in spite of the tortured look she sported, was angelic. Even in a somewhat conservative dress, she was stunning. He could make out the traces of lace in her bra under her dress. He also marveled at her small waist and the way her hips gave a hint of the beautifully shaped bottom that she possessed. “An ass so phat you could see it from the front” was how his boy Dee had described it after seeing Nate with Anita one day at the hospital.
Finally a tear formed in her eye. “I want you too, Nate. I love you too. I do want to be with you—”
He interrupted. “Then what will it take? We can go tell him now. Where is he?”
“He’s not here. He stepped out for an hour.” She shook her head. “Honestly, I think he went to have a drink.”
“We’ll wait, but this has to end. I can’t stand not being with you another day.” With that he forgot where he was and move closer to her.
“What are you doing?” Anita said, attempting to slide back. She moved too slow and Nate caught her by her wrist. She dropped the note cards and let out a sigh as Nate grabbed her by the back of her head and pulled her face to his. “Nooo, not here, Nate.”
Nate didn’t stop. Their kiss was love personified. His tongue danced with hers and she couldn’t keep her passion under control. The kiss was long and full. His hands began to wander all over her body. First to her hips, then her ass. Next he found her breasts and palmed them. “Ohhh, Anita, I missed you so much.”
Nothing but a moan from her. Her lips were on his earlobes and his neck. They lost all track of space and time. Nate pulled her dress up enough to grip her panties. One firm tug and they were ripped from her body. “Ohmygawwd no,” she whispered when she felt his fingers reaching her center. He backed her against the wooden barrier in front of the choir benches. One finger, two, then three inside of her as he kissed her neck.
Anita was high on passion. Higher than she’d ever dreamed of going. She wanted Nate. She was in love with him. She’d been unable to sleep without dreaming of him, but right now she was in a different place. Her desire for Nate, coupled with the contempt she held for her husband, had her wanting to do the unthinkable. “Nate,” she murmured.
“Yeah, baby,” he answered.
“I want you to fuck me,” she moaned as his fingers danced on her clit like a guitarist on the strings. “I want you to make love to me right here, where that hypocrite stands and delivers messages that he doesn’t live by.”
With that Nate spun her around and lifted her dress. Within seconds he began pushing inside her. Each inch brought a deeper moan and remarkably a cry of passion that could have been heard up the block.
He moved slowly at first until she asked, “Did you miss this?”
“Yeah, I did, baby.”
“Then act like it. You want me to leave with you?”
“Yeah, baby, please leave.”
“Then, ma…maaa…maaake me wanna…ohhh shiiiiit.”
Nate began banging her like a man who was just released from prison on a weekend pass. His strokes began coming like thunder. His thighs clapping against her perfect ass. Her wetness was drenching him and he was beginning to lose control. She was now screaming at the top of her lungs as she began to feel her orgasm approach. Nate was magic. No man had ever made her cum before, and here Nate did it every time. “Ayyyyyeeeeeee,” she screamed out. “Don’t stop, doooonn’t stop. I feel…I feeeel iiiittttt.”
With that she began to grunt and her legs trembled underneath her. Nate began to shoot inside of her. “Yess, oh damn yesssss,” he mumbled as he finished.
“What the fuck!” They both heard a voice yell out.
They turned to see Lloyd and Thomas, head of the board of deacons, standing next to Sister Toya Sanders, the treasurer. Her mouth was hanging wide open. Part of her display of shock may have been due to her witnessing the size of Nate’s huge, glistening penis. He had just pulled it out of Anita upon their arrival.
Lloyd swooped in on Nate for his rematch. He did successfully get a couple of licks in while screaming, “He raped my wife.” But by the time Nate was able to pull his pants back up, he had regained control of the situation. He’d punched Lloyd in the ear a few times and caused him to recoil.
The women were screaming while Thomas tried to break it up. Anita was professing loudly, “He didn’t rape me. I love him.”
A crowd gathered and by the time the situation had some semblance of control, people were beginning to arrive. It was a mess, to put it mildly.
Old women were treated to a barrage featuring Lloyd’s true colors. “Bitch, get out of my church. Call the police.”
Nate had gotten his wish as he and Anita scurried from the church like two teenagers eloping. They went straight to the house in Mitchellville and packed Anita’s things. An hour later and Anita sat in a daze in Nate’s marble superbath whirlpool tub, sipping a glass of wine. The two hardly talked while Anita’s mind drifted back from the absurd display of the morning’s events that kept playing over in her mind. Nate knew she needed some peace and quiet time. He didn’t mind giving it to her; after all, he’d gotten just what he’d prayed for and he wasn’t about to blow it.
22
Time Waits for No Man
I didn’t want to sleep with Shelly. I merely wanted to use the couch to take a nap since it was late when I arrived. A summer shower had slowed traffic down on the turnpike and it was murder making it through the Holland Tunnel. When I parked my car I had only one thing on my mind, some peace, quiet, and rest. I even tried checking into a nearby hotel but they were all booked. Saturday night in Manhattan gets that way.
I reached my floor and headed toward my door. Inside all was quiet and there were boxes everywhere as Shelly was preparing to vacate the apartment. I looked down the hall and could see the television on in Amani’s room and headed that way. I didn’t want to wake her. She hadn’t seen me in almost two months. I walked up to her door and saw that she was sleeping soundly. What I also noticed was that she had company. There was another little girl sleeping at the foot of her bed. They looked like two little angels that had overdosed on pizza and soft drinks. The empty box was on the floor next to the controller of the GameCube. There were a couple of DVDs on the floor next to the television as evidence that there had been a little party going on.
I watched her sleep for a moment and then I turned a
nd headed for the living room. On the way back I walked to the master bedroom. I looked in and saw my wife sleeping soundly. I have to admit that I felt a strange mix of feelings take over me. She was still beautiful and still my wife, but she was in a negligee, one I’d purchased no less, lying in bed with another man. He was sleeping so soundly you would have thought that it was his house.
Not knowing exactly what to do, I did nothing. I took a closer look and recognized him. The guy with the daughter at Amani’s school, it made sense. I had been replaced with the other half of a ready-made family. Ricky Reyes. I hadn’t forgotten his name. He was a Lenny Kravitz–looking mofo, with his shirt off in an apartment I was paying for. I thought about walking over to him and cracking his head open just for general principle, but then a thought came over me. It was the same type of clarity that I felt when I’d been on that flight from Chicago. My mind raced with thoughts of all that I’d done and taken Shelly and Nina through.
Right there in that moment, she had peace and comfort. My daughter was in her room in child’s heaven. She had a friend and a sister perhaps. Me, I’d been a user, irresponsible, and the opposite of a real man. I’d crossed forbidden boundaries and had hurt the union of a sisterhood. Worse than that I hadn’t yet been worth it. By ending things with Nina, I had started to right the ship. By walking out of that apartment and swallowing my pride I would take another step.
I turned around to walk out and as I gathered my things I heard a voice, “Daddy.”
I looked over and saw Amani. A smile formed on her sleepy face and I felt my heart melt. She’d called me “Daddy.” In that moment I had all the answers I would need. My daughter would love me, no matter what. “I missed you, honey, so much,” I said in a whisper.
“I missed you too.” We were locked in a hug.
“Listen, sweetie, I want you to go back to bed and I’ll come and see you tomorrow. We can go anywhere you want.”
“Can Kali come?” she asked.
“If her daddy says it’s okay.”
“It’s fine with me,” I heard a male voice say behind me.
I looked at him and he looked back. I turned back to Amani. “Baby, go on back to sleep. Daddy just stopped in for a second to see you, but I’ll be back in the morning.”
“What time?” she shot back.
“What time would you like?”
“Eight o’clock.”
“That’s a little early. How about noon?”
She nodded her head. “Okay.” I gave her a kiss and she headed back to bed.
I made my way to the door, bag in hand. “Tell Shelly I’ll see her around noon if you don’t mind.”
“No problem. Nice to see you again.”
“I bet,” I said as I exited. Trying to keep from getting an attitude, I thought of all the things I had done to bring this on myself. My pride was crushed for the moment but I had it coming. It was life. My life.
“Look what the cat done dragged in,” Terri said as I made my way to the bar. I had driven straight to Justin’s. I had an hour till closing and I knew that Terri would set me straight. “The usual?” she asked.
“And then some,” I replied. “You know I’m really beat.”
“You look it,” she said. I’d begun to forget how sexy she sounded with that accent. “Where you staying, sexy?”
“With you if you’ve got the space in your bed.”
She laughed. “You know your ass is a funky trip. You come through, hit it on your way out of town. I don’t hear from you for what…two months…now you want to come back unannounced and come lay up?”
I smiled. “Hey,” I said.
“You fine and all but I don’t know who you think you are?”
I grabbed the shot she’d given me and slammed it. “I’m Rick James, bitch,” I said imitating Dave Chapelle.
She burst out laughing and poured me another. “You tired,” she said, reaching into her purse. “Here.” She threw me the keys. “You remember my apartment right, it’s 209.”
“124th?”
“Yeah, I’ll see you in a couple hours.”
“Thanks.”
She smiled, letting me know that she was glad to be of some help to a brother in need.
There was no sex with Terri, she’d let me sleep. Told me I was snoring when she came in. I woke up and she was getting ready for church. We made some small talk while she fixed me a quick breakfast of bagels, eggs, and turkey sausage on her George Foreman grill.
We kicked it like buddies and I explained to her my reason for coming to the city this weekend. She gave me some advice that I heeded. “Cory, no matter what, keep the bond strong between you and your daughter. If you move on or if she does, don’t be a fucking hater. As long as that man is good to your seed, then don’t worry your head ’bout it a bit.”
After breakfast I left Terri, promising to do better with keeping in touch. I headed downtown to spend some time with my daughter and to set up a time in which Shelly and I could file our papers for a legal separation.
23
Lovely Inspiration
SIX MONTHS LATER
Brendan was recovering quickly. He was still in therapy but was now working out vigorously. He ached at night but he didn’t complain, he was lucky to be alive. He was self-conscious about the slight limp he walked with. The doctors told him that the next surgery would eliminate that and he’d be back to normal. Aside from the two-inch scar on the side of his head, which was now covered by the curly fro he’d grown out, he had no visible marks from the accident.
Each morning he would get up and go to therapy. After that he would go to the gym with Nate and Dee. Nate was on a mission, working out like he had never before. His regimen inspired Brendan to push himself to the brink and had been part of the reason for his speedy recovery. Dee, in the meantime, had gone back to college and was trying to regain his youthful physique for the college girls. He’d decided he wanted to be an elementary school teacher, of all things. It was a noble profession, but hard to imagine a guy with the history that he had molding young minds.
In addition to his partners working out, Brendan was getting even more inspiration from his newborn son, Khalil Brighton Shue. Trina had reluctantly given their son his last name. She had been trying to convince him to give their relationship another chance for the sake of their son.
Brendan, for his part, told her that he merely wanted to take it slow. There was so much damage to repair. Before he even wanted to tackle the idea of trying to become a family, he needed to get well physically first. In addition, he was seeing someone who had been there for him through it all. He wasn’t willing to turn his back on his blossoming relationship and blow what could possibly be the type of love that he’d always wanted by giving yet another chance to Trina’s psychotic, lying ass.
I arrived last to Nate’s crib. When I got there I could smell the food when I hit the door. I walked in and took my shoes off as was required. “Hey, Cory,” everyone spoke.
“What’s good?”
Brendan walked in off of the balcony. “What’s up, dog?”
“I can’t call it,” I answered. “Where’s the baby?”
“Renée is in the back changing him for me.”
“So, playing Mr. Mom is rough, huh?” Just then Renée walked out of the room with a freshly changed baby. “I see you brought in some reinforcements.”
Renée handed Brendan the baby and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “Hey, love,” she said.
Nate had on an old-school mix CD playing, and currently “Joy and Pain” was bouncing through the system. I looked around the room as I found a seat and thought about how fitting the title of the song was to everyday life. We each had been through our own personal turmoil in the past couple of years. Then I wondered why it was that the joy that was so elusive and the pain so easy to find.
On a positive note I looked at Nate over there with his fiancée. Anita’s divorce wouldn’t be final for two more months but she was already wearing a five-carat
diamond ring straight from Harry Winston, and had said yes to Nate’s proposal. He had flown her down to North Island in the Seychelles where he’d rented one of only eleven secluded villas. They had spent four nights in the 4,500-square-foot villa. Nate had told her that the trip was only for her to clear her mind and relax, but on the second night there, he presented the ring to her as they watched the sunset. He’d told me that the vacation was the best fifteen grand he’d ever spent. I wasn’t sure if it was because of the wedding he was now planning or all of the incredible lovemaking he’d claimed they’d done.
My life was settling into a steady pattern of woman sampling. I wasn’t ready for another relationship. At least I kept telling myself that to keep from getting bent out of shape about the poor luck I was having finding a suitable mate. I looked over at Brendan holding his son and found it hard to believe that he too seemed to be on the verge of settling down. Even if he was going to have a baby’s mama situation on his hand, he seemed content. I figured having a new lease on life will make a man put things into perspective. He had been repeating that “life was too short to be involved in a bunch of drama.”
He definitely had a point, but I was having some trouble finding out what was the point without the drama. My crew was getting boring.
“Listen up, everyone,” Nate yelled out. “I have an announcement.”
“Turn the music down,” I said. “This is gonna be good.”
His grandmother was smiling, waiting to hear her loudmouthed grandson profess his love for Anita or shower her with some other outlandish romantic gesture. Everyone else in attendance tuned in as he clanked his fork against the side of a wine bottle.
Nate made his way out to the middle of the floor and for some reason he pulled his T-shirt off. “Man, it’s hot in here,” he said.
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