Twisted Vows of Seduction

by N’Tyse

  “I didn’t expect we’d be moving so soon. That’s all,” she said dismissively. Greg could feel there was something more. He measured the look in her eyes as she pursed her lips. “I couldn’t be happier.” She stood up from the bed and walked over to the CD player. She changed out the music: Maxwell, her next choice. She turned the volume down. “When should I start packing?” she asked, her back turned to him.

  “Right away. I told my real estate agent that I’m sending you ahead of me.”

  “Aaaaa…head of you?” she murmured. It was evident how completely off-guard she’d been caught. “Wow! I can’t believe you didn’t bother to tell me.” She started walking out of the room. Her voice trailed behind her. “So I’m just supposed to pack up…and leave…I would have liked to had a choice in your decision,” he heard her say.

  After realizing she wasn’t returning to the room so soon, he rose from the bed, slipped on his briefs and followed her. She was in the kitchen getting ready to make them both a toasted pastrami sandwich.

  “Baby, I plan to fly out every single weekend to see you until I’m there permanently. Besides, that’ll give you time to fix up the house the way you like. You know how y’all women like to do.” She didn’t respond. He walked up behind her, grabbed her by the waist and turned her toward him. “Hey. What’s bothering you?”

  She shook her head. “Nothing.”

  He could read her face better than she might have given him credit for. “Don’t lie to me.”

  She relaxed her shoulders and their connection was restored. “I’m worried about the outcome. That’s all. Worried something’s going to happen and screw everything up.”

  He cradled both sides of her angelic face and placed his forehead slightly against hers until the tips of their noses touched. They melted into one. “Hey. You let me do all the worrying. All right. That’s why my head is bigger than yours.” He grinned. “I have extra room to worry.”

  She smiled and her face lit up like a Christmas tree. He took his index finger and slid it along the right side of her face. “We were meant for each other. It’s a reason God sent you to me…and I can’t afford to lose you…” He doubted she heard him when he whispered, “Again,” just before wrapping his lips around hers. Without notice he lifted her onto the black marble kitchen island. He was so damn good at this, their kisses went undisturbed.

  “Close your eyes,” Greg said, between amorous kisses. Naomi did as told. On that cue, he reached deep into his pocket and pulled out the small silver box. He opened it, inspected what was inside, and took a deep breath. Against his best friend’s advice, Greg lowered himself to the floor. He wasn’t going to hold out anymore. It had been long enough. She didn’t deserve to have to wait another minute for him to put a ring on it. He was going to show her, right here, right now, how ready he was to take their relationship to the next level.

  Tears began to well in his eyes as he thought about the last time he saw Denise. He knew deep down how much she had loved him. How much she had cared. He didn’t feel those tears skate down his cheek, but he knew they would soon. Greg believed that what he was about to do would make everything feel right again. And if not, it would at least be an attempt to calm the guilt tearing at his soul and the bedlam tormenting his mind.

  Engraved in that platinum five-karat engagement ring was today’s date. It was the date he’d lost the love of his life. The woman of his sweet dreams. That date marked the one-year anniversary of Denise’s death. Her body was gone, but her spirit had found its way back to him through Naomi. How else could one explain the happenstance? They resembled each other considerably. Could have even passed as twins. Naomi also had Denise’s personality. Being with Naomi sometimes felt too good to be true. It was like she had been an angel sent straight from heaven. And perhaps that’s exactly what she was. But no matter how Greg viewed it, there was no doubt in his mind that she was meant for him. And today marked the day he would vow to always be there for her. He would make sure that Denise’s memory lived on through Naomi. It was his way of making amends.

  With the ring in his right hand, Greg stared up at his future wife. “Open your eyes now, baby.”

  Naomi’s eyes lifted in utter amazement. Her mouth hung agape and she appeared as nervous as he was. Her bottom lip trembled, as did her hands. Her swelling eyes darted from him to the ring.

  With his eyes transfixed on hers, Greg pinned back his shoulders and swallowed whatever bit of doubt that crept up his throat. He drowned out Leonard’s voice. The one telling him to wait until after the finalization of the divorce. But as he held those voices at bay, another worry presented itself. What if she said no? What if she felt the way Leonard had when he told him? Maybe it was too soon. Marriage was a big step and six months hadn’t been a long enough courtship, many would say. Greg also worried that she’d bring up his wife again, and ruin their moment. So many things flooded his mind, but he was ready to go all in and give it a shot anyway. He needed her to say yes. Needed her to make him feel complete so that he could right all his wrongs and pick up where he and Denise had left off. Needed her to say yes so that he could repurpose those old and worn ways of his.

  Tears began to roll down Naomi’s face as her eyes slowly began to settle back on his. “What are you doing, baby?”

  Greg raised his head more, wanting and needing to appear as confident as he could. “Naomi Brooks. Will you marry me?”

  Naomi sucked in her bottom lip. Tears rounded her cinnamon blushed cheeks. Her eyes smiled at him and her lips began to move again. “Yes! Yes, I’ll marry you!” More tears showered her face.

  Greg sighed in relief and a megawatt smile widened his face. He slipped the ring onto her left finger, then stood back on his feet. He embraced her with a hug, a kiss, and then carried her back to bed. They made love over and over again all through the night. Greg came inside of her every time, praying each time he released his love seeds, that one of them would make him a father.

  12

  Nadine exited 24 Hour Fitness sweating from head to toe. She sweated out her curls so bad that her hair didn’t look anything like it had this morning. She had never had a workout like that in her entire life, and it reminded her of how out of shape she really was. She could barely keep up with her personal trainer and for a minute there, she thought he was trying to kill her on that Stairmaster machine.

  She walked slowly to her car feeling physically drained and out of breath. She stopped, took a gulp of her bottled water and started back up, all while thinking that she wouldn’t care if she never saw Jay or that damn gym again.

  It was barely 11 a.m. and the temperature was nice out, but Nadine couldn’t wait to get home out of those sticky clothes. Getting into her car, she thought about the party she had to go home and get ready for. Her soror, Kelli, had invited her to a barbecue at her lakefront house. Not only did Nadine find it as a good time to catch up on old times, she thought it’d be refreshing to get out and enjoy a much needed break to escape the drama in her own backyard.

  Nadine thought venting to her Aunt Mickey last night would have helped. It hadn’t. Nadine felt the same as she did before she made the call. Her feelings for Jeff were mixed and unforgiving. No matter how hard she tried to let it go, she couldn’t help but think about the audacity of some folks. Did he hate her that much? Her frustration and anger toward him was at a ten. This was the final straw, she’d decided. Jeff giving his fiancée her number was way out of line. She didn’t understand where they’d gone wrong and it bothered her that he couldn’t come right out and tell her. Why this Ménage person and not her? What did she have that Nadine didn’t?

  Turning on to her street, she smiled halfheartedly. This was God’s way of punishing her. She was certain of it. How else would one explain all this bad luck? She regrettably hadn’t been back to her church in at least a year, and this had to be his way of getting her attention.

  As the Mary Mary CD thumped in the background, Nadine began to hum the words as she reflecte
d on her own life. Past and present. She thought about what her horoscope said this morning. She had only been checking her Facebook messages when she clicked on the advertisement pop-up. Nadine didn’t believe in astrology, but out of curiosity, she wanted to know what it would reveal about her life. Once she entered the necessary information, her reading came back within seconds. Only if life really were that simple she had thought.

  Her horoscope told her to confront her biggest fear, and that doing so would open her heart to new experiences. She reread that particular sentence until she memorized it, and she still didn’t know exactly what that was supposed to mean. Nadine’s only true fear was that she would never find the man worthy of having her heart again. That meant, that she may never marry or have the family she so deeply desired. She had entrusted Jeff with so much, only to be deeply hurt. And because of that, she refused to ever fall in love again. Not because she was bitter, or maybe she was. But she’d lost faith. She didn’t believe love existed for her and she didn’t want to continue to take herself through the motions, only to set herself up for failure. She had to protect herself; if she didn’t look out for her, no one else would.

  Nadine and love were not on speaking terms, but she’d experienced enough of its wrath to accept that if she opened her mind and heart to love again, the possibility of getting burned was even greater than the last time. She was good with numbers and the odds were stacked against her. Nadine had also learned the symptoms, the side effects, and the proper diagnosis for the different types of pain love takes you through. Her experiences with Jeff had been quite the joyride. She now understood that at times, love might fuck her brains out, then leave her to go crawl back into another woman’s bed. That it might play mind games or have other women playing on her phone all times of night. It might neglect her, abandon her, or simply dismiss her when she tried to have a simple adult conversation concerning their child.

  Nadine knew the bad side of love all too well. Even its shady characteristics, its MO. Humph, the son of a bitch had a method to its operation, she mused. Once things got heavy, love’s alter ego would tear its ass and…well…leave her holding the short end of the stick. And she’d be damned if she gave it the satisfaction of taking her through hell and back all over again.

  She parked her car and walked into her building. Instead of taking the elevator up to her floor like she would have normally, she took the stairs. She could still feel the burn in her calves, thighs and legs as she climbed each step slowly.

  Once inside her cozy apartment, she headed into the kitchen to ditch the empty bottle of water in the trash and to grab another one out the fridge. She glanced at the clock. She had two hours to shower, get ready, and make it to Kelli’s house. She was excited about seeing her old running buddy, whom she hadn’t seen in a while. While they often communicated online, it wasn’t the same as seeing each other in person.

  She went into her room and opened the closet. She pulled out her outfit. Solid mint-green leggings and a poncho-style top with muted floral print. It was a cool, befitting, yet simple look for the occasion. She figured she’d pair it with a nude Jimmy Choo open-toe pump and then embellish her look with vanilla pearls. A look that would exude confidence, class, and a dose of sexiness.

  It took Nadine hardly any time to get dressed and she loved how sexy she felt in her clothes, despite her previous worries of weight gain. Her makeup was subtle. Still it enhanced her natural beauty. She fingered her hair until every single strand was where she wanted it. She loved the new look and after all these years, she couldn’t believe it took a breakup to inspire her to switch up her style. Her new short cropped hairdo framed her face perfectly and highlighted her high cheekbones. It made her face look fuller and her eyes seemed more pronounced. She felt entirely more phlegmatic than she had yesterday. She didn’t know where this energy and confidence boost had come from.

  Nadine checked the time again and rushed into the kitchen to grab a protein bar. She took a couple of bites, downed her blood pressure medication with a full glass of water, and headed out the door looking simply magnificent. She called Jeff to check on Canvas on her way down to the car.

  “Hello,” Jeff answered dryly.

  “Hey. I was just calling to check on Canvas. How’s he doing?”

  “We’re watching a movie.”

  “Oh yeah? Sounds like fun! What are you guys watching?”

  “Cars,” Jeff answered flatly.

  “Again?” Nadine chuckled.

  “His choice.”

  Nadine picked up on how short he was being. But she wasn’t at all surprised; after all, their last conversation hadn’t ended so well.

  “Well, tell him Mommy loves him. And give him a big hug and a kiss for me.”

  “Yeah.”

  Nadine stopped talking but there was more she wanted to say. She wanted to ask him about Ménage. Wanted to know how long he had been seeing her. She started to bring it up, but clearly it wasn’t the right time. Lately, it seemed it was never the right time to discuss them anymore.

  “Well, I guess I’ll let you all get back to your movie.”

  Jeff was silent.

  “I’ll check on him when I get back in tonight. If it’s too late, I’ll wait and call back in the morning.” She waited for him to question her whereabouts.

  Silence.

  “Okay. Later,” Nadine squeezed out just before hanging up. She didn’t wait for a reply as she would never get one.

  13

  Nadine pulled into the private gated Frisco community approximately fifteen minutes earlier than she had expected to arrive. Thankfully she remembered the way as she had forgotten to print off the map Kelli had emailed her. She gave her name to the security guard sitting in the booth and seconds after notifying Kelli, he allowed her entrance onto the property.

  The wind could be heard whistling through the glass and as soon as Nadine rolled the windows down, the fresh and gentle breeze greeted her. There was nothing like a good kick of wind that bounced off the cool lake.

  As she drove five miles per hour through the row of multimillion-dollar mansions surrounded by huge acres of land and water, she took in the breathtaking scenery of the tropical landscape. She took a long minute to savor the lush living. Beautiful seventy-degree weather like this always made her miss her hometown Atlanta. Nadine had only come to Texas to attend college. She never thought she would pursue her career here, fall in love with a married man, bear his child, then wind up another unwed baby mama. She felt like she had become a statistic. Felt like she’d been dealt an unfair hand.

  Nadine recognized Kelli’s house right away. It was the cornered property with the huge ranch-sized lot. Life had been good to her. Well, marrying a pro football player had been good to her. She was living every woman’s dream and Nadine envied her in a way, because unlike Nadine, Kelli didn’t have to lift a finger or work for anything she had. Had been that way since Herald had swept her off her feet back in college.

  Parking beside a fiery candy-apple red Corvette, Nadine looked around to see if she recognized any of the other three vehicles. She didn’t. She checked herself in the mirror one final time and then applied a fresh coat of nude lipstick.

  She was determined to have a good time this evening, and to ensure that happened, she placed her phone in the glove compartment. Her world had been a living hell lately and she was going to leave all her problems and worries right inside of that car. Yes, she was going to relax, relate, and release.

  She grabbed her purse, pushed her shades further back on her face, and walked up the maroon cobblestone pathway leading to the house The closer she got to the door, the faint smell of smoked barbecue and brisket lifted her nostrils. It smelled delicious, but she had to remind herself of her diet. She rang the doorbell once.

  “It’s open, Nadine!” Kelli called out through the intercom, apparently watching her on the surveillance camera. Nadine let herself in. She closed the door behind her and followed the music coming from the back
of the house. She marveled over the colossal living room and its fancy décor. The vaulted ceilings, massive white columns, and swath of custom drapery made her think twice about buying another condominium. She might have needed to invest her monies into a house. Of course she could never afford a mansion on her income, but a three-bedroom house in the suburbs was definitely feasible.

  As she walked even further into the house, she began to admire the travertine floors, the fourteen-foot-high stone fireplace, and the equally huge formal dining area, which was tastefully decorated in the finest of crystal. Nadine noted the panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows throughout with open waterfront views from every room. The home reeked of elegance and grandeur. Kelli and Herald were definitely living it up. It was no wonder MTV Cribs came out to get a peek of their lavish living.

  Before Nadine made it all the way into the spacious chef kitchen where the music was coming from, Kelli was removing her apron and wobbling over to her.

  “Nadine, you made it!” Kelli exclaimed, hugging her.

  Nadine removed her shades and stared at Kelli’s protruding belly in astonishment. She couldn’t get the words out fast enough. “You didn’t…tell…me you were expecting!” She beamed.

  Kelli conveyed a girlish blush. “I know.” She smiled. “No one knew before today. I wanted it to be a surprise,” she said as she rubbed her stomach excitedly. “That’s why I’ve been avoiding the media. You know how they like to get all up in your business.”

  “Well, mission accomplished.” Nadine laughed.

  Kelli brushed her long black luscious strands out of her face. She was a gorgeous biracial. The type you’d see modeling on a fashion magazine. She had perfect facial features. Her father was African American and her mother Swedish. Kelli was slightly taller than Herald, slender, and curvaceous. Let her tell it, she had gotten her derriere from her grandmother on her father’s side who ate a lot of cornbread. She had smooth, tight olive skin, silky tresses, slanted emerald green eyes, and a convivial personality. She had majored in marketing, but when she’d met Herald, she’d pushed her ideas of working in corporate America aside.