by Lisa Jackson
With a deep sigh, she picked up her pen and reached again for the stack of papers. The words appeared like dots on the pages before her. She had to get beyond this, she scolded herself. Eventually, the pain would subside and life would proceed as if nothing ever happened just like with Sean.
It was already 4:30 and Alexa wasn’t close to being ready. She noticed the time as she emerged from the shower. With water dripping from her naked body, she scurried into the bedroom and slid open the closet door. She quickly began to push aside one outfit after another hastily searching for the perfect look for the evening. Suddenly, she came upon the little black dress she wore at the rehearsal dinner, and thoughts of the night she and Darius had shared came back to mind. The memory caused a sinking feeling to come over her.
Thoughts of negativity threatened to surface and she struggled to hold them back. Her greatest fear in reuniting with Darius was that it would end on the wrong note. In addition, she was forced to speculate that Darius was giving her a dose of her own medicine. Although she didn’t want to jump to any conclusions, she blasted herself for failing to stick to her convictions.
Frowning, she swept aside the evening dress, casting their affair to the back of her mind simultaneously. In doing so, her hand came to rest on her favorite dress. A dark plum-colored chiffon dress that dipped off the shoulders and skimmed her slender waistline and hips like a second skin with a flirty flare at the knees. The dress complemented her womanly curves and shapely legs. Before putting on the dress, she smoothed on her favorite scented lotion, 5th Avenue, and dabbed the matching fragrance behind her ears and on her wrists. Alexa slipped into the dress and spun around in the mirror, smiling proudly at the perfect fit.
She selected a pair of strappy sandals of the same color to complete the ensemble. Satisfied with what she saw, Alexa stepped into the bathroom where she began to flat-iron her hair into her signature sleek pageboy. It took her only ten minutes to do her whole head before combing it out so that it lay gracefully on her shoulders. Just as she was about to apply her makeup, the doorbell rang.
She glanced at her watch. It was only 5:15. Suddenly a feeling of regret came over her. In her experience, when a man came over more than half an hour before the set time, it meant an attempt to make a “pre-dinner booty call.” She rolled her eyes in disgust. If Jesse was coming over early for that, then he could forget the whole evening.
With a disappointed frown, Alexa marched to the front door, undid the lock, turned the dead bolt and flung open the door only to gasp at what she saw.
Standing there filling the doorway with his broad shoulders and looking fine as ever was Darius with a half-cocked smile on his face. “Hey, lady.”
“Darius, what are you doing in Denver?” she asked with surprise while silently thanking the Lord for sending him to her front door.
“Isn’t Denver big enough for the both of us?”
“Of course,” she replied, unlatching the screen door. Something was wrong with him. She could sense it the minute she opened the door. “Come inside.”
She stood there waiting for some sign that he was happy to see her like a hug or better yet a kiss, but when Darius stepped past her it confirmed that something was wrong.
“Hmm, nice,” he complimented as he walked into the living room, surveying her choice in decor.
Alexa eased up nervously behind him. “Thank you.”
He stopped at the living room and nodded. “Very nice. I’m impressed.”
When he reached the attached family room, Darius spun around quickly totally catching Alexa off guard. His eyes traveled down the full length of her attire causing her to squirm from his scrutiny. “Looks like you have a special evening planned. Are you expecting someone?”
“I did have plans,” she hesitated to reply. “But now that you’re here, I can cancel them.”
“No, no,” he interjected with a wave of his hand. “Don’t interrupt your life on my account.”
“It’s not a problem, Darius, really.”
“Go on with your date,” he said, walking towards the door. “I’ll just get me a hotel room and take in the city a little later.”
“Darius!” Alexa frantically called out his name. Everything was happening so fast, she didn’t know what else to do besides grab him by the arm. “What’s going on?”
He whirled around to look at her, his usually bright eyes laced with anger. “Try asking yourself that question, Alexa?”
“What do you mean by that?” she asked, totally confused.
Darius closed the door and leaned towards her so that his arms boxed her in. His face was so close to hers that she could smell a hint of mint on his breath. “How in the hell can you walk out on us again after that weekend? You got on that plane like you didn’t have a care in the world except getting back to your damn job!”
Everything was falling to pieces, which wasn’t how she had imagined their reunion to be.
Darius snorted. “Alexa, we made love. We were together all night. Didn’t you feel anything? Or have you grown that cold? The way you rushed back here made me feel like what we had was nothing but a booty call—pure and simple!”
“No, baby, that’s not true!” she disagreed. “Don’t say that. It was more, much more.”
“You have to explain it better to me then because I can’t see it any other way?”
Darius wanted more than anything to give her the benefit of the doubt. He wanted the excuses to come flooding forth, something that would erase the ill feelings that he felt.
“Baby, I’ve been thinking about that night since I got on that plane.” She leaned her back against the door, her gaze dropping to the floor. “I know I hurt you in the past. When you asked me to marry you, I didn’t want to give you an answer because I felt like we needed to clear up our past before moving into even a friendship.”
Darius groaned, expelling the built-up irritation. He slid his hands down to Alexa’s sides, capturing her hands in his before leaning in closely. He pressed his nose against her hair, and inhaled her scent with a sigh. “You’re right. If there is to be a second time for us, we have to do things right.”
She continued. “Don’t get me wrong. I was ecstatic from your proposal, I just thought it was too soon.”
“So what do we do?” Darius asked, his eyes falling onto the lushness of her moist lips.
Alexa shrugged. “I guess we can take things one day at a time.”
Darius chuckled deep down in his throat as he eased against her, molding his body against hers. “Or one week at a time. You know it’s going to be hard since I’m way over in Ohio?”
Alexa nodded with her face against his cologne-scented chest. It felt so good to be in his arms again. “I think if we both want it, we can work it out.”
“You know what I want?” he asked tenderly, tracing her jawline with his finger.
Alexa smiled wickedly and encircled her arms around his solid midsection. “Could it be this?” she asked, raising her head up capturing his luscious bottom lip gently between her teeth. Darius growled as Alexa parted his lips with her tongue, tasting the mint in the corners of his mouth. Their tongues proceeded to engage in a playful game of tag when Darius slowed the pace to a gentle joust. His mouth moved away from hers to place tender kisses along her jawbone and down to her neck. A soft moan escaped Alexa’s throat as Darius’s kisses manipulated her weak spot, making her body writhe in response.
Their mouths made love with Darius moving his tongue in and out between her lips in a slow, gentle motion. Alexa in turn tightened her soft lips around his tongue. With their mouths locked, Darius backed into the family room skillfully avoiding a fall over the furniture until they reached the sofa where they tumbled down into a heap. Darius took his time removing Alexa’s dress. As he inched the delicate fabric down her body, he planted a luscious kiss on the exposed skin.
It wasn’t long before Alexa lay before him on the sofa totally naked and ready for his taking. Darius eased back and gazed
upon her with adoring eyes. His appetite for her was unmeasurable. His desire for her was no mere infatuation but a longing that burned like hot embers.
Whatever he was trying to say, she received the message clearly and reciprocated by removing his clothing. Soon they were both completely naked. A caress here and kiss there as both remembered and relished the touch and taste from their last encounter. Finally, when neither could stand it any longer, Darius quickly protected himself before entering the warm, moist place between her thighs with a content groan. Alexa raised her hips to receive him fully. At first, their actions started out slow as they took their time, savoring one another but things soon escalated into unrestrained, heated passion as if their lives depended upon it. In their case, it did.
As if they had not already been connected, their bodies exploded in unison. When their faculties returned moments later, Alexa tapped Darius’s shoulder. “Hey, big man, let me up.”
Darius raised his head with a mischievous grin. “It’s going to cost you.” He gently brushed away the stray hairs from her face, causing her to blush under his inspection.
“C’mon, baby, I have to use it,” she whined.
“Oh, do you now?” he teased. “First tell me, who’s the champ?”
Before Alex could respond, the chiming of the doorbell interrupted their bantering.
“Is that your date?” Darius whispered. He had no intentions of releasing her from his hold so that she could go off on some date with some other man, especially not after what they just shared.
Alexa nodded. She wished they were in the throes of passion then they would be too busy to think about answering the door.
“Then be quiet and maybe he’ll go away,” he suggested.
Alexa giggled. “I can’t do that. Let me up so I can tell him that I have to cancel our date.”
“That’s right,” Darius replied, finally rolling off of her. “Tell him your man is in town and he better get on up the road, or else.”
Alexa laughed at Darius’s jealous remark and struggled to stand. Making love to Darius left her with a sense of being drunk. If she didn’t have to get up that minute, she probably would have dozed off. She searched around for something to cover herself. The nearest article of clothing was Darius’s shirt.
“You can go upstairs while I get rid of him,” she informed him.
“Are you kidding,” he replied, scrambling from the floor. “I want to see the competition.”
Alexa smirked at his response and slipped his shirt over her mussed hair. Darius’s eyes glowed. Even with her kiss-swollen lips and tousled hair, he thought she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
The doorbell rang again and Alexa tiptoed to the door. She pressed her finger against her lips, urging Darius to not make a sound. Although she caught a glimpse of her disorderly reflection in the mirror, she did not bother to adjust herself hoping it would add believability to the story she was fabricating in her head.
Jesse stood at the door holding a small bouquet of flowers. When the door opened, his smile drained from his face at the sight of her. “Alexa, what happened?”
Alexa faked a sniffle. “I know. I got up feeling terrible this morning. I thought I’d get better by tonight but I feel horrible. Please, don’t be mad.”
Darius tiptoed behind the door and peeked through the glass at Jesse. From what he could see, he was hardly Alexa’s type. The man standing there looked way too conservative in his wire-framed glasses, steel-gray suit and camel coat.
Even so, Darius couldn’t contain the resentment rearing up in him just thinking of her being with another man. He had to end the scene fast. A naughty thought came to mind. Before he knew it, he was easing his hand up the back of her shirt. When his hand reached the round mound of soft flesh, he caressed it softly before giving it a nice squeeze.
Alexa jumped with a gasp.
“Are you okay?” Jesse asked in alarm, taking her response as sickness.
“Oh, uh, no,” she stammered then placed her hand on her stomach. “I think I’m going to be sick. I’m sorry, Jesse. I’ll pay you for the ticket.”
“No, no problem. I’ll just call you later,” he promised. He quickly handed over the bouquet. “I just hope you get better.”
“Thanks,” she replied, taking them from his hand and shutting the door.
Upon locking the door, she turned to find Darius smiling like he was up to something. Although she wanted to be mad at him for almost blowing their cover, she couldn’t be. Alexa’s eyes could not hide the love she had for Darius, making him feel like royalty before her.
Before she could protest, he hurried over and swept her up in his arms. “Where’s your bedroom?” he murmured into her ear. “I want to do this right.”
Alexa pointed up the stairs. Like a valiant knight honoring his queen, Darius carried her upstairs. He entered her bedroom at the end of the hall and carried her over to the queen-size bed before gently lowering her onto the throne. This time when they made love they took things nice and slow, savoring each other, as if nothing but time was on their side.
Alexa moaned as Darius trailed his fingers delicately down her spine. “You like that?”
Alexa nodded through her erotic drunken stupor. She was totally and completely satisfied. They had made love countless times leaving her exhausted from the intensity of it all, but she didn’t regret a minute of it.
“Are you hungry?”
She rolled onto her side entwining her legs with his, enjoying the feel of his muscular, hairy limbs against her own. “Not really, are you?”
Darius nodded. “You know making love makes me hungry.”
Alexa giggled lightly as she recalled such an occasion. The two had finished being together. While Alexa dozed off to sleep, Darius went into the kitchen in search of food. Because she hadn’t been shopping, the only thing he could find was fixings for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He decided that it could hold him until they went for some real food.
He practically inhaled the sandwich and glass of milk. He couldn’t believe that he was there in Denver, but he was. Alexa was sleeping in the bed in the next room. Just to make sure he wasn’t dreaming, he quickly returned to the room. Sure enough, Alexa was lying flat on her stomach, snoring softly. Darius reached over and began to massage her neck. His hand ventured further down to her breast where he ran his fingertips over one of her nipples.
Her eyes immediately popped open. “I thought you meant that you were hungry for food.”
Darius laughed. “I did, but I just wanted to make sure you hadn’t fallen asleep.”
“I heard you,” she assured him. She sat up beside him and glanced at the clock. It was 9:00 in the evening. “I guess we can get something to go. What do you feel like?”
“Chinese sounds good,” Darius announced as he untangled the bunched covers from her body. He began searching the room for his clothes. Before going off to the other parts of the house, he glanced over his shoulder and smiled at what he saw—Alexa lying peacefully in bed. He couldn’t deny that he wanted this scene to replay itself over and over in their bed in their home as husband and wife.
Their clothes were everywhere. In their haste to disrobe, they had thrown their clothing in such a haphazard way all about the room. He found Alexa’s panties dangling from a plant and his boxers were on the coffee table. After slipping into his jeans, he trotted back upstairs to get his shirt only to meet Alexa on the way down dressed in a pair of loose-fitting jeans and wearing his shirt, which hung almost to the knees.
“Don’t you think my shirt is a little too big for you?” he asked with a laugh.
Alexa turned to him with her pouted lips. “I don’t care.” She lifted the collars and took a deep whiff. “I’m going to keep it, because it smells like you.”
Her response touched him and he fought the urge to pull her down into his arms again. There would be plenty of time for that so he settled for a kiss this time.
“Hey,” she warned, ba
tting him away. “We better get out of here or else you’ll never get anything to eat.”
They ate their dinner on the floor before a roaring fire sharing shrimp lo mein, chicken egg fu yung, white wine and conversation.
“So what is there to do in Denver?” Darius asked as he fished through the pile of noodles for a piece of shrimp. He picked up a couple with his chopsticks and popped them in his mouth.
“Nothing really if you’re referring to the club scene,” Alexa replied, between bites. “I don’t go out much.”
He nodded, satisfied with her answer. At least that meant he didn’t have to worry about her being approached inappropriately by men with one-track minds. However, he knew that her beauty and sweet demeanor could attract a man in almost any circumstance.
He took a deep breath before asking the next question. “What is it that you do at Marks-St. Claire?” he asked while trying to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. As far as he was concerned, they were the enemy. After all, it was their job offer that took Alexa away from him in the beginning. The thought of competing with the organization didn’t rest easy with him, but he had to find out what the intrigue was all about.
“I’m managing editor of a lifestyles magazine called Mountain High.”
“Managing editor, huh? So what does your work consist of?”
“Marks-St. Claire is the parent company of several magazines. I basically manage the senior editors of the different departments featured in the magazine by making sure that each article or feature story correlates with the monthly theme.” She paused long enough to take a sip of her wine. “Then there are other administrative type duties, but I don’t want to bore you with those details.”
“So do you like it?”
Alexa nodded. “I enjoy what I do. The company has been really good to me. It’s rare to find women, let alone African-American women in the business. It makes me proud to be representing.”