A Love Like This (Book 1)

by Lane, Kimberly

  “He’s still in love with that horse face baseball bat with boobs. He’s only with me because he’s got jungle fever,” I say with a slur throwing my hands in the air and swinging my hips to the beat.

  “First of all you’re not the first black girl he’s dated. Secondly, he didn’t even want me to touch your hand and I’m pretty much assured a punch in the gut for watching your ass the whole time we’ve been dancing. He’s dated a lot of girls: tall ones, short ones, thin ones, thick ones, black, white, Asian’s and Hispanic’s. Once he dated twins. At the same time, the guys my fucking hero,” Riley shouts excitedly.

  I’m starting to see that being a blabber mouth runs in the family, Riley talks as much as Sarah. “I got it. There were a lot of girls.”

  “My point is he was never like this with any of them, especially not Amy.”

  “Let’s just dance,” I say spinning around and running right into Pookie. “Hey uncle,” I yell louder than necessary before throwing my arms around his neck. Riley creeps away and joins Sarah and Nickie at the bar. Pookie hands me my purse then takes me by the hand and leads me onto the patio.

  “What did you do to that man? He looks miserable,” Pookie says as soon as we find a seat.

  I shake my head to clear the cobwebs. “I didn’t do anything to him. We were supposed to be hanging out together and he’s spent the whole day arguing with Amy the good bitch.”

  “You’re a little drunk so focus.” I stare at his mouth while he talks concentrating on his words. “They were together for a long time. She was crying and he didn’t want to hurt her more than he already has. He’s a good guy so go easy on him.”

  “Ok ok I got this,” I say standing to leave. Pookie catches me by the arm. He takes out a little pouch from his pocket and dabs at my nose with an oil blotter then fishes the lip gloss out of my big red purse and applies a fresh coat.

  “One last thing,” He says squeezing my cheeks and squirting breath spray into my mouth.

  “I love you,” I say hugging him. “I hate living up here without you.”

  “I know baby girl,” He says rubbing my head and smoothing my ponytail into place.

  I find Tucker sitting at a table alone with is long legs stretched out and crossed at the ankle. There’s a group of girls watching him from the bar. I smile at them before walking over and sitting on his lap. I rest my head on his chest and I can hear his heart beat accelerate.

  Tucker holds me tight and kisses the top of my head. “Are you mad at me?”

  “No,” I think you’re great,” I say. One of the girls from the bar comes over and stands just inches away from us. “Oh God not another one,” I say.

  “Sorry to bother you, but weren’t you dating a woman named Samantha a few months ago. I only ask because she’s a friend of mine and I thought you looked familiar.”

  Tucker never takes his eyes off me. He holds my face in his hands and kisses me for a long time. When I finally manage to pull away the girl has disappeared and my panties are moist. I put my hands on his shoulders. “So you ready to go dance with some gay dudes? Pookie wants us to go with him to the Castro District tonight.”

  Tucker shakes his head, “I must really love you,” he says than inhales sharply as if he’s trying to suck the words back into his mouth.

  My eyes widened. I touch his cheek with the tips of my fingers feeling dizzy from the rum and dizzy from his words. “I know we were having a moment so you might not mean what you just said but someday you will.” Tucker brings my hand to his mouth and kisses the palm.

  Chapter 10

  I wake up in a bedroom with a vaulted ceiling dark wood floors and a huge bay window that leads out to a wooden deck. The things I could do to this room I think to myself before realizing I’m in a strange bed. I’m wearing a long red t-shirt with the word red printed across the chest and a large tan arm draped around my waist. Tucker is asleep next to me his giant arm cutting off my circulation. The day before is a blur. I remember dancing and drinking more than I ever have before. I hope that we didn’t have drunk sex. I want to remember the first time we’re together outside of my dreams. I look down the front of the top. I’m wearing underwear so that’s a good sign. I lift the thick Egyptian cotton sheets and see that Tucker is wearing boxer briefs.

  I wriggle from under his arm and pad out of the bedroom past the kitchen which has empty glass cabinets and a small island with a marble counter top. The living room is bigger than my whole house back in LA. The windows stretch from the shiny hard wood floor to the vaulted ceiling. Whoever the house belongs to must have a house keeper because there isn’t a spot of dust anywhere. It’s sparsely furnished with only an overstuffed leather couch and a giant TV the kind that appeal to men and sports bar owners. I hear a stir in the corner of the room. I look closer and see Sarah asleep on top of blond dreads. A few feet away Nickie is on top of a sleeping bag spooning with Riley. The living room looks like a scene from Caligula with clothes, bras and underwear thrown around. “Good lord, what the hell happened here?”

  I tiptoe down the hall and up a flight of stairs. There are three empty bedrooms, each one larger than the next. I open double doors and walk into the bathroom that I could happily spend the rest of my life in. It has his and her sinks, marble counters and heated stone floors. There is a claw foot tub next to a steam shower with a detachable shower head. It has a huge walk in linen closet and enough space for a chaise lounge. I walk in further and open double doors leading to one of the most magnificent views I’ve ever seen. From this bathroom I can see the entire UC Berkeley campus and all of the Berkeley Hills. I tear myself away from the view spin around on my heels and head back down the stairs and towards the bedroom. As I pass the living room I try to figure out why Nickie and Sarah are both down stairs when there are so many empty rooms upstairs. I sit on the bed next to Tucker and nudge his arm. He stirs opens one eye then reaches over and pulls me next to him. “Tucker where am I? Where is my uncle and why does it look like a porno took place in the living room. He laughs and pulls me on top of him. I brush his hair away from his eyes and rub his stubbly chin. I rest my head on his chest and listen to his heart beat. “Seriously, whose house is this?”

  “You’re at my house in the Berkeley hills. Well our house,” he says kissing my head.

  “This is a big house. How can you afford it and what do you mean our house? Did we buy a house last night?”

  “People usually live together when they get married. I don’t think they’ll let me move into the dorm.”

  “Haha very funny, what do you mean we got married?” I roll off his stomach.

  He sits up. “You seriously don’t remember?”

  I shake my head slowly. I don’t think he’s kidding.

  “We left the cave and drove to the Abby Lane bar in the Castro District. You had two or three more rum and cokes and spent most of the night dancing with a drag queen named Jazz-MAN.” He pauses, “You honestly don’t remember any of this?” I shake my head again. He flops down onto a pillow and laces his fingers behind his head. “Pookie met a guy within ten minutes of entering the club and disappeared for most of the night. Steve showed up at some point.”

  I interrupt, “whose Steve?”

  “He’s the guy with the dreads. Riley and Nickie really hit it off.” He raises his eyebrows “I mean they really really hit it off.”

  My head is spinning. “Ok skip to the part where we end up married.” I can feel my chest tightening and my breathing becoming rapid. I look down at my hands and there on the third finger of my left hand are two rings. The first is a platinum wedding band with diamonds surrounding it. The second a princess cut solitary that has to be at least four karats.

  “We came home early this morning and everyone crashed. You’ve been asleep since the flight back from Vegas.”

  “I can’t breathe,” I say clutching at my chest.

  Tuck
er springs to my side. “Baby look at me, it’s ok you’re fine just breathe.”

  I put my head between my knees trying to catch my breath. “But why am I married? I say knowing the question sounds ridiculous before it leaves my lips.

  Nickie and Sarah come rushing into the room. “What did you do to her?” Sarah yells pushing Tucker aside. Nickie sits down and wraps her arms around me. Tucker stands in the door way raking his hands through his hair looking anxious. Riley and Steve are standing behind him looking confused.

  Sarah marches over and pushes them all out of the room. “We’ll talk to her. Put on a pot of coffee it’s going to be a long morning,” she says before closing the door.

  “Honey I thought something like this might happen let me show you something.” Sarah opens a video on her smart phone. There I am doing the bump with Jazzman the drag queen. Sarah pans the camera over to Tucker. He’s sitting there drinking a beer and shaking his head. In the next video Pooky rushes over to the group excited.

  “I met a guy who’s going to Vegas in an hour. He has a private plane and he said we can all tag along.”

  I watch myself throw my hands in the air and say, “Yes Tucker we’re getting married in Vegas.”

  The camera goes back to Tucker who is choking on his drink and waving his hands back and forth.

  The next video shows Nickie and Riley trying to suck one another’s face off. “We can delete that video,” Nickie says swiping at the phone.

  The next video shows Tucker dragging me off the stage at a Karaoke bar and more footage of Riley and Nickie in a passionate embrace.

  “Here are the final two videos,” Sarah says. There is a picture of me wearing a white sun dress. Sarah’s voice comes from behind the camera, “You’re a little drunk maybe you shouldn’t do this?”

  “I love him,” I say to the camera.

  Tucker is in the final video talking to Riley.

  “Bro you’re drunk think about what you’re doing. You don’t know anything about her and she doesn’t know anything about you or your family.”

  “I’m not drunk and my families not marrying her I am.” Tucker turns and looks at Riley. His face is so peaceful and warm that I feel my heart flutter. “I feel like something’s missing when she’s not around. I want to protect her, I love her man.”

  “My phone died after that.”

  I’m staring at the blank screen wide eyed and confused. Nickie is still rubbing my shoulders. “I’m so sorry Leila. I should have taken care of you the way you always take care of me.” Nickie says crying.

  “I’m an adult I can take care of myself.”

  “You can probably get the marriage annulled,” Nickie says.

  “I just want to lie down for a minute. Can you guys give me a minute?”

  “Sure sweetie we’ll make you some tea and don’t worry this will all work out fine,” Sarah says before closing the bedroom door. I close my eyes and flash backs of the night before come rushing into my head. The little white chapel that I picked out from a hotel pamphlet, the sun dress I found at a boutique on the Las Vegas strip all come back to me. The memory is extremely detailed for a wedding planned in a drunken state. I’m lying in Tucker’s giant bed for what feels like only a few minutes trying to figure out what to do. I open my eyes and Pookie is sitting on a chair in front of me. I sit up and hug him knowing he’ll figure this entire thing out for me.

  “They’re all out there trying to figure out how to get an annulment on a Sunday. “ Pookie shakes his head and squeezes the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. I’m thinking he must really be worried but he lifts his head and his face shows nothing but amusement.

  “Pookie this isn’t funny,” I say starting to tear up.

  “I know baby, but only you would wake up married after your first time getting drunk. We have to drive home today baby do you want us to take you back to the dorm.”

  “Does Tucker want me to leave?” I ask trying not to cry.

  Pookie smiles, “Tucker is freaking out pacing the floor not saying much about anything.”

  “He must feel terrible. I made such a mess of things,” I say crying.

  Pookie wipes my tears away with his fingers and smiles sympathetically. “You love him don’t you?”

  “I think so, but I don’t really know anything about him.”

  “You don’t have to rationalize it. If you love him don’t worry about anything else just make it work. I’m going to send him in but I need you to go clean yourself up first because you look a mess.”

  I smile and hug Pookie again before grabbing my purse and setting off for the bathroom. I look in the mirror at raccoon eyes and a blotchy ashy face. Inside my purse is a big zip lock freezer bag with a shower cap, a travel size bottle of my orange body butter, a comb and brush, toothbrush, deodorant and a black lace thong. I’m not sure what Pookie thought I’d be doing but I definitely need everything he packed. I stand in the shower until my skin gets all wrinkly. I dry off with one of Tuckers thick white towels and peek out the bathroom door before tiptoeing out in only the black lace thong. I’m rummaging through Tucker’s things for something to wear when the bedroom door opens.

  “Shit, I’m sorry,” Tucker says placing a hand over his eyes. Steve and Riley insisted that I put on a shirt. I cover myself with one hand and reach for a sheet with the other.

  “I’m sorry. I should have dressed in the bathroom.”

  He’s standing by the door with his hands in front of his face shuffling his feet from side to side like a child in time out.

  “Will you come in?” I say looking down at the floor. I’m crying again like an idiot.

  “Please don’t cry.” He closes the door and crosses the large room in two steps.

  “I can call my family’s lawyer first thing in the morning just don’t cry.”

  I look into his worried eyes and my heart melts. I reach for his hand and pull him over to the bed. He sits down and I sit on his lap and rest my head on his shoulder. He kisses my cheek.

  “I love you,” he says holding me in his broad arms. “I promise I’ll never hurt you.”

  “I love you too,” I say tracing his lips with the tip of my finger,” but that’s an awfully big promise.”

  Chapter 11

  The thought of telling Xavier Peterson that his baby girl got drunk married in Vegas sends cold chills up Pookie’s spine. “He’s gonna fuckin kill me,” Pookie says falling onto the couch and covering his face with his hands.

  “Just let Leila tell him. You know he never gets mad at her,” Nickie says. She’s sitting on the opposite end of the couch wearing Riley’s shirt. His head is resting on her lap and she’s stroking his hair.

  “That’s exactly what I’m going to do,” Pookie says slapping his hands on the couch and bounding to his feet.

  “Where were you last night anyway?” Nickie asks. “You disappeared for most of the night.”

  “I met a guy. A few guys actually. It was nice to have a change of scenery.”

  “Did you meet the love of your life?”

  “No I wasn’t looking for love. Just like you, I was looking to hook-up.”

  Nickie mouths the words, ‘shut up’ then bends down to kiss Riley on the forehead.

  “Anyway, I met a photographer named Yuri who’s starting his own magazine. I threw out a few editorial ideas and he asked if I’d be interested in doing some freelance editing. If things work out I’ll be spending a lot more time up here.”

  Sarah and Steve walk in from the patio laughing and coughing. A cloud of smoke follows them as they make a beeline for the kitchen. They rummage through the refrigerator and start constructing the world’s largest sandwich. Sarah looks over at Riley and Nickie while she eats. “Nickie please don’t fall for my brother he is diabolical.”

  “Diabolical,” Steve says laughing.
>
  Nickie doesn’t want to tell Sarah that she has absolutely no intention of falling for Riley.

  Sarah and Nickie were standing at the bar talking last night when Riley walked over. He saw Nickie and his green eyes darkened. He licked his lips like a wolf about to slaughter a baby lamb.“Introduce me,” He said nudging Sarah with his elbow.

  “This is my loser brother Riley,” Sarah said with an eye roll.

  “I’m Nickie,” She said extending her hand. Riley brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it softly while looking into her eyes. Nickie thought he was cute but nothing spectacular. If she’d walked past him on the street she probably wouldn’t have given him a second look. Like Pookie said Nickie just wanted to hook up. She wanted to sleep with a guy that she was in no danger of falling in love with and Riley Goldman fit the bill perfectly.

  “Alright we should get going,” Pookie says. “We have a long drive ahead of us.”

  Nickie taps Riley to wake him. “We have to drive back to LA now.”

  “Can’t you leave the rental car at the airport and take a flight out of Oakland?” Riley asks lifting his head from Nickie’s lap.

  “A last minute flight will be too expensive,” Pookie says. “Now come on girl chop chop let’s go.”

  Nickie heaves herself off the couch then bends down to kiss Riley goodbye. She feels a little sad when she looks into his bright green eyes. She knows it was just a hook up but being with him was so easy. She hadn’t thought about Damian once. “I’ll call you when we get home,” She lies then turns to walk away.

  “Wait,” he says reaching for her hand. He fishes around his pocket for his wallet then pulls out a credit card and hands it to Pookie. “Make the flights as late as possible,” he says and turns to follow Nickie up the stairs. Pookie get’s on the phone to make the arrangements. He hangs up and places the card near Nickie’s purse along with a written list of charges.