LaCasse Family Series

by Ju Ephraime

  She was just about to put in a call to Earline’s room when she saw her walking toward her. Earline looked like shit. Therèse hadn’t noticed her appearance yesterday because she had been so surprised to see her, and then, once she’d learned the reason for her presence, nothing else had registered besides anger and hurt, until now.

  Earline looked as if she hadn’t slept in ages. She needed a haircut, and her makeup was nonexistent. Earline had always been very meticulous about her appearance. She almost didn’t seem like the same woman. She had lost a lot of weight, and her clothes hung on her. What was going on with this girl?

  “I was just going to call you.”

  “Why? I said I’d be down.” Earline sounded annoyed.

  “I don’t have a lot of time. I’m going into town after this.”

  “Thanks for taking the time to meet with me.”

  “You sound so frail. What’s going on with you? Is it the migraines?

  “No, the migraine is better, thanks. I feel as if I have no purpose now, like a ship without a rudder.”

  “Why? What brought this on? Did something happen back home?”

  “No, I don’t believe it was any one incident but rather a series of things. I had one plan for my life, and it seems to be crumbling in front of my very eyes, and there isn’t a damn thing I can do about it.”

  Looking at her closely, Therèse could see she’d been crying. Her face was blotchy with red spots all over it, giving her the appearance of a blowfish. She ordered some coffee and refused the breakfast, saying she had no appetite. Therèse calmly ate her breakfast and had a third cup of coffee before she brought up the matter, no doubt on both their minds.

  “What did you want to talk with me about yesterday, Earline? You said it was important, but when I asked you to have dinner with Foxx and me, you declined. I know you had a migraine.”

  “It’s sort of difficult to discuss this now.”

  “Well, I don’t mean to rush you, but I have some errands to run in town, and I have to be going soon if I want to escape the lunch rush and the midday heat.”

  “Can I go with you? I need to pick up something in town, too, and it will give me something to do.”

  “You’re welcome to come with me, but we’ll have to hurry.”

  “What do you do here all day, Therèse? It must be pretty boring.”

  “No, it’s not. I’m so busy all day the time goes by very quickly. I took the time to try to learn the Créole language. I learned about the history of the island. I visited some famous places I had not gone to when I was here before. Like Mount Pelée, the volcano that erupted in 1902 and destroyed the village of St. Pierre.

  “That took up your day?” Earline asked incredulously.

  “You’d be surprised. You know, ‘time flies when you’re having fun.’ I won’t tell you it wasn’t a bit difficult in the beginning because it took me a while to connect again with Foxx, but I was determined. That determination alone kept me going.”

  “Wow, such loyalty,” Earline murmured under her breath.

  “I believe we should go to the bus stop if we are taking the bus, unless you want to take a taxi?”

  “No, I’m fine with the bus. It gives me an opportunity to relax while I listen to the various dialects,” Earline said.

  “Why, Earline, I didn’t know you were interested in the local dialects. We have to hurry if we’re to get the bus.”

  “Here comes a bus now.”

  “All right, let’s go then.”

  They raced outside, waving to the bus driver, who was kind enough to stop and wait for them.

  Earline paid the fare for the both of them, and they settled in to enjoy the ride. Therèse was surprised when Earline chose to sit next to her when the bus was practically empty. She didn’t like being squished in her seat, but she didn’t want to appear rude. Earline acted as if she wanted to be as close as possible to her, and that annoyed her. She had a natural aversion to being touched by anyone but her mate.

  chapter

  TWENTY-THREE

  Therèse’s phone began to ring as she settled into her seat on the bus. She scrambled around in her bag for it, and by the time she’d found it, it had stopped.

  Looking at the call log, she saw it was Foxx. For some reason, she felt a bit self-conscious talking with him while Earline was sitting next to her. She decided to wait until they got into the town to return his call. She hoped Earline had her own thing to do so she could have some privacy.

  The whole thing was so silly, but Earline had made no secret that she didn’t care for Foxx. She wouldn’t even answer when he’d greeted her on their first trip, but Therèse had been so blown away by the man that she'd put Earline’s behavior down to fear of the unknown.

  She looked up to find Earline regarding her strangely. “Tell me, Therèse. What happened to the woman who was threatening you when you were last here?”

  “Funny you should mention that. I haven’t had any incidents since I’ve been here, and it’s been almost three months.”

  “You haven’t?”

  The way she said it, so incredulously, gave Therèse pause for a second, but she continued, explaining to Earline that her time on the island, so far, had been very uneventful.

  “I can’t understand. What did he do with his woman?”

  “Who’s he? Are you referring to Foxx? If you are, Foxx has told me he didn’t have a woman at the time he and I were together, and I believe him.”

  “Well, good for you.”

  “Earline, do you want to continue with this conversation? I don’t. Think carefully before you answer.” With that, she turned her face away from Earline and kept looking out the window as the bus sped by the beautiful scenery.

  She was very thankful to finally arrive in town because she didn’t like the tension between her and Earline. They’d never had the best of relationships, and this constant bickering was getting to her.

  She took leave of her, and they agreed to meet at the bus stop in a couple of hours. She quickly took her phone and called Foxx. As luck would have it, he wasn’t far from where she’d gotten off the bus, so they arranged to meet in an hour after she’d completed her errands.

  She raced into the coffee shop on the pier to say hi to Clayton. She hadn’t spoken to him since she and Foxx had gotten back together. On a couple of occasions, she had seen him in the distance while she was going in and out of the hotel. She’d also seen him earlier that day when she had gone into town with Earline, so he was taking his job seriously.

  He had also been a great help to her when she was in a gloom trying to find a way to reach Foxx. She had a lot to be grateful to Clayton for, and she wanted him to know she appreciated everything he’d done for her so far.

  As she walked into the shop, he spotted her immediately.

  “Bonjour, chéri, comment ça? Hello, darling, how are you?”

  “I’m fine, Clay. You must be in a very good mood. You are speaking to me in French.”

  “I’m just happy to see you. You might not believe it, but I’d grown used to seeing your beautiful face in the corner. Are you going to spend some time with me today?”

  “Unfortunately, no. I’m meeting Foxx in a bit. I only came to say hi.”

  “The lucky devil. Give him my regards. Are you going to have something to eat?”

  “No, I had a large breakfast, but I’ll take an ice.”

  She loved the ice. It was so creamy and juicy. Her favorites were vanilla and coconut.

  “And an ice you shall have. What flavor do you want?”

  “I’ll have a vanilla, please.”

  “A vanilla it is. Would you like some extra syrup?”

  “Yes, please, you know all my weaknesses.”

  “I hope not all. Here you go and don’t be a stranger.”

  “Thanks, Clay. I’ll try not to be.”

  She rushed out of the shop and picked up the few personal items she needed in one of the many boutique-like stores on the is
land.

  There was a large mall, Galleria, in Lamentin, but it was a much longer trip, close to the airport. She was hurrying because she had told Foxx she would be at the bus stop in fifteen minutes. She didn’t want to miss him. She made it back to the bus stop just as Foxx was crossing the street to meet her.

  He walked up to her and gave her a kiss on her lips, not on the cheeks, as was the customary greeting in public, but she guessed it was okay. This made her heart happy. It told her that she was special to him.

  Therèse was not taking anything for granted with Foxx, although she had no intention of leaving matters up to him. She had already decided, when the opportunity presented itself, she would give him no choice but to accept the fact that she was here to stay.

  They walked hand in hand to the park and sat next to the water fountain. It used to be their favorite spot when they were dating.

  “How did the rest of your morning go after I left?” Turning to her, he lifted her as if she weighed next to nothing and placed her on his lap.

  “I had a very exciting morning, one you won’t believe.”

  “Try me.”

  “I was having the most beautiful dream of you chasing me on the beach in your altogether when I was rudely awakened by repeated banging on the wall. It was so loud I fell off the bed trying to get to the door, but it wasn’t coming from the door; it was Earline. She said she thought something was wrong with me. I must have been screaming in my sleep, having the orgasm you had brought me to.”

  “She could hear you while you were asleep through the walls?”

  “Yes, I’m afraid she must have heard us last night. The walls are so thin I could talk through them.”

  “No! You’ve got to move.”

  “I’ve taken care of it. I didn’t tell her, but I’m now on the seventh floor. It’s the top floor. The manager assured me the walls are much thicker there. I guess because it’s considered penthouse. I haven’t told Earline. Speaking of which, she came into town with me. I have to return to the bus stop to meet her in an hour.

  “I have yet to learn exactly why she’s here, so I’m going to have to play nice to her until she tells me. I don’t believe she came all this way to ask me to come home. She could have done that over the phone.”

  “You poor darling,” he said as he nuzzled her under her neck, breathing in deeply. She immediately felt the movement of his cock growing underneath her.

  “Foxx, stop it. I’m not behaving badly with you in the park, so control yourself.”

  “I can’t help it. You know how I get when I’m within sniffing distance of you. It works on me like an aphrodisiac.”

  “Well, in that case, I’m moving to the bench. Anyway, I’ve got to be going if I’m to meet Earline. I want to give myself plenty of time to get there.”

  “I don’t care two farts about Earline. I’ll not share you with her, so get rid of her. If you don’t want to do it, I’ll do it for you.”

  “I’m going to try to convince her to leave tomorrow. Is that soon enough for you?” she asked.

  “No, but I guess I’ll have to control myself for a day,” he said. “Do you want to do a show tonight?”

  “Yes, that would be great.”

  “I’ll pick you up at seven.”

  He gave her a quick kiss, and hand in hand, they walked back to the bus stop together.

  chapter

  TWENTY-FOUR

  Arriving at the bus stop, they found Earline was already waiting for her. She hurriedly took her leave from Foxx and headed toward Earline just as the bus was pulling into the stop. They got on together. She was happy to see that Earline was in a better mood.

  “I didn’t know you were coming into town to meet Foxx; otherwise, I wouldn’t have imposed myself on you.”

  “You’re not imposing on me, Earline. And I just ran into Foxx. I had no plans to meet him. What are you going to do with the rest of your day? Also, you have yet to tell me what brought you here.”

  “I did tell you; you chose not to listen,” Earline replied.

  “I recall you mentioning you thought I should return to England with you. But you also indicated that you had something more to say. If that was it, if that was what you came all this way to tell me, bugger you then.”

  “I do have something more to say, but can you wait until we get back to the hotel?”

  “No, I want to hear it now,” Therèse decided.

  “I wanted to be in a better place when I told you how I feel about you, but since you insist, here goes.”

  Earline took a deep breath. “I’m in love with you. I have been from our first meeting at The Embankment restaurant during your initiation into the alumnae.”

  “You what? Did I hear you correctly?” Therèse was completely taken aback.

  “Yes, you did. What’s so shocking about what I just said? I’ve been trying to work up the courage to tell you for years, and when I encouraged you to take a vacation on this island, touted as being a lovers’ paradise, I thought I would work up the courage then.

  “I talked with the others to convince you to go along with the plan. Imagine my excitement when you agreed to take the trip, only to have my hopes dashed when you took up with Foxx.”

  Despite her shock, Therèse managed to explain. “Don’t you understand? I love Foxx. I love him with every breath in my body. I have never given you any indication that I swing that way. I’m sorry for having to hurt your feelings, but there will never be me and you, as an item. Even if there were no Foxx, it would’ve been another man, not you, never you. I don’t even see you that way.”

  “I’m beginning to realize that now, especially after last night.”

  Therèse chose to let that comment go by. She had to let Earline down gently without being too harsh. But how could she do that when Earline was her friend and what she was proposing was beyond the bond of friendship?

  However, as someone who had loved and lost, Therèse knew how painful the whole process could be. This, however, was way beyond her. She had never even kissed a woman.

  She didn’t undress in front of other women, so in that regard, she could be considered a prude. She had always been a very private individual. Now she had to hurt her friend. Therèse felt rotten, but Earline had placed her in a very uncomfortable position.

  The atmosphere between them had become strained, and she couldn’t tell which of them was the happier to see the familiar hotel façade.

  She decided to extend an olive branch by offering her hand to Earline before they entered the hotel, but she was in for one more surprise. Instead of taking Therèse’s hand, Earline grabbed her in a suffocating hug before releasing her and turning away, but not before Therèse saw the tears filling her friend’s eyes. She pretended to be unaware, walking quickly to the bar. She was not going into the elevator with Earline.

  She heaved a deep sigh of relief when she saw Earline had not followed her to the bar but had continued to the elevator.

  Stopping at the front desk for her new keys, she was excited about her new room. This would be her first time seeing it because the hotel staff had moved her things. She made her way to the stairs, which she took two at a time, racing up to her new room. She didn’t want to take the elevator and risk running into Earline again.

  When she opened the door to her new suite, she was indeed impressed. This was a huge step above the room she had on the fourth floor. Everything in the room looked brand-new. She could not wait to call Foxx. She had to try out the Jacuzzi that came with the room. Pouring herself a drink, she stripped and stepped into the bubbling water. It felt like heaven.

  She remained in the water while she read her favorite book, Dream Lover, by Henley. She loved all Henley’s books; they were so hot they always put her in the mood for love.

  After her bath, she took her time getting dressed for her date with Foxx. She debated about calling Earline, but thought a clean break was better than giving her false hope.

  Therèse dressed in an off-w
hite linen shift, which showed a hint of cleavage and left her neck bare. She blow-dried her hair and pinned it up, complementing it with dangling earrings and a small Omega necklace with a cross pendant, which sparkled when she moved.

  Her only makeup was a dusting of face powder with a hint of sparkles and bright red lipstick, which she covered with a shiny lip-gloss. She was ready to leave and hoped Foxx would be on time. She didn’t want to sit around crushing her dress.

  She need not have worried. At exactly five forty-five P.M., there was a knock on her door, and when she looked through the peephole, he was standing there, handsome and breathtaking as usual.

  Opening the door, she rushed into his arms just as she used to do before, offering up her mouth for his kiss. And like old times, he took what she offered and gave it back to her ten times more. Oh, how she loved this man.

  “I see you’re ready. How do you like your new space?”

  “It’s great! But I had to sneak up here to avoid Earline. I hate having to do this. I hope she leaves soon, now that we’ve had our talk.”

  “You’ve had the talk?”

  “Yes, but it’s too complicated to go into it now. I’ll tell you later.”

  “You can tell me during dinner before the play.”

  “I’m ready.”

  He put his arms around her to bring her into the fold of his arms. Bending his head to her neck, he sniffed her, running his mouth against her pulse.

  “You smell wonderful and look just as wonderful, but I much prefer your natural scent and you naked beneath me.”

  “Please control yourself, sir,” she said in a mock-stern voice, pretending to be offended. When she felt a response between her legs, she ignored it and continued walking with him to the elevator.

  They made it down to the lobby without any further incident, but she had to repair her lipstick before stepping out of the elevator.