The One That I Want

by Zuri Day

  “What?” Jon asked as she took a step back.

  “Jon, I . . .”

  “You don’t want a divorce.”

  “But it took that for me to get your attention. What kind of marriage do we really have?”

  Sighing, Jon dropped his head and Lola started for the door. “Lola, what do you want me to do? You just say it and I’ll do it.”

  Chapter 4

  Lola didn’t know what to say. This was too easy, too simple. Though, she was willing to admit that she hadn’t thought her plan through. Did she think Jon would find her in Aspen? No. She knew Jon would react, but seeing him in Aspen and hearing him say what she wanted to hear . . . In her heart of hearts, she knew this divorce was never going to happen.

  “Lo?” Jon repeated.

  “I’m going to talk to Tash and let her know what’s going on,” she said. He followed her inside and all eyes were on them as they headed for the elevator. Lola shook her head, realizing that she and Jon must have put on quite a show for the lounge patrons.

  “You still haven’t answered my question,” Jon said as the doors of the elevator opened. “How do we get our marriage back on track?”

  “I don’t know,” she said. “I just want to make one thing clear. It’s not that I’m not happy that your dreams have come true, and I know that you work like a maniac because you don’t want the people you love to suffer. . . .” Jon pressed Lola against the mirrored wall of the elevator and brought his lips to her ear.

  “And you know I love you more than anything. I need . . .”

  “You need to realize that other people can help you.”

  Jon stepped back. “What are you talking about?”

  “We’re not back in Orlando where you were starting out with a dream and all of your ideas. If you hired these MIT graduates and Harvard graduates, why don’t you let them do more work?”

  Jon wiped his hand across his face. It was hard to admit that he still felt some kind of way about his background. That the ghosts of past—his mother’s exodus from Cuba, his father working himself to death, and the way those housewives made him feel less than—made Jon force himself to be better than. So, yes, he hired graduates from top schools—only to show that he could out-code them.

  Despite all of the things he shared with Lola, he never opened up about his haunting insecurities. “I just want to make sure things get done right.”

  She shook her head. “And you don’t think the people who work for you don’t want that as well?”

  “At the end of the day, Lola, it’s my company.”

  “And I’m your wife, aren’t you worried about me being taken care of and done right?”

  Jon raised his eyebrow. “What are you saying?”

  “If I were a different kind of woman and didn’t love you as much as I do, I would’ve been here with another man. Do you know how lonely I feel these days?”

  He focused his gaze on her. Her lip trembled and a wave of guilt washed over him. “Baby, I’m sorry.”

  “And how long is this going to last?”

  As if on cue, Jon’s cell phone rang. Lola sucked her teeth. “You have got to be kidding me,” she exclaimed.

  “Lola, give me a second,” he said as he took the call. The doors of the elevator opened and Lola bolted out.

  “Casey, what’s up?” Jon asked as he followed Lola down the hall.

  “Merry Christmas, boss,” the lead programmer said. “You told me to call you and update you on the fixes for the three games we have coming in January.”

  Jon groaned inwardly. Casey Thomas lived and breathed gaming. With no family and no desire to do anything Yuletide related, he had given him the assignment of debugging the latest JMJ sports games.

  Damn it! This was not going to help his cause. “Case, I need to call you back,” he said as Lola walked into her suite and promptly slammed the door in his face.

  Lola threw herself on the sofa and groaned. The noise in the suite woke Tashmir, who tossed a pillow at Lola. “Did you fall and hurt yourself skiing in the dark? Are you about to die? Otherwise, waking me up from a delicious dream about me and Denzel Washington is unacceptable!”

  “Jon’s here.”

  Tashmir was wide awake. She even sat up in the bed and flipped the light on. “Where is he?”

  Lola flipped her thumb to the door. “Out there on the damn phone, as usual.”

  “Seriously? You’ve at least talked to him, right? He does know you’re not here having an affair.”

  “He knows a lot and it hasn’t made a bit of difference because he’s doing the same damn thing. I’m—”

  A knock at the door interrupted Lola’s train of thought.

  “Are you going to open the door or what?” Tashmir asked as she hopped out of the bed and grabbed her robe.

  Lola padded to the door and opened it. Leaning against the door frame, she glared at him. “I guess everything I said downstairs didn’t mean anything?” she said.

  “Lola, I have a business to run. There are three—”

  “You hired people who can do their jobs, right? It’s Christmas, why is anyone working, anyway? Make a decision, we’re going to spend this holiday together and try to work on what’s wrong with us or you can go back to Miami and your video games!”

  “That’s not an option,” he said. “Are you ready?”

  Lola rolled her eyes. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

  Jon walked into the room and surveyed the scene. Lola’s bags were still in the corner, she hadn’t unpacked fully. “We’re not doing this again. I take one phone call and . . .”

  “Jon, there will always be a phone call you have to take, a meeting you have to attend and I’m left waiting.”

  “If I have to carry you out of here, I will. Lola, we have to work this thing out.”

  “This thing?”

  Tashmir walked into the room and shook her head. “Guys,” she said. “I’m not trying to butt in; however, I’m tired and you don’t need an audience for this.”

  Lola dropped her head and then looked up at her friend. “Sorry. Jon, you need to leave.”

  “Fine.” In a swift motion, Jon scooped Lola up in his arms and headed out the door.

  “This is getting really old!” she exclaimed.

  He didn’t say a word as he strode toward the elevator. “Jonathan Michael, put me down and I mean it!”

  The doors opened and he stepped on. “Jon, I’m not doing this with you!” Lola exclaimed as the doors closed. He remained silent, holding her in his arms. She felt like a sack of laundry.

  “Can you put me down, please?”

  “No.”

  “Jon!” The elevator stopped on the next floor and a perky couple stepped on. They smiled at Lola and Jon. “Accident at the night ski?” the bubbly brunette asked.

  “No, I’m actually being kidnapped,” Lola replied.

  The woman and her husband laughed and Jon joined in with them. Lola dug her nails into his neck.

  “Ouch!” he exclaimed, nearly dropping her. “Really?”

  “I don’t see anything funny, Jonathan Michael!”

  The couple in front of them exchanged an uncomfortable look. “Someone overdid it with the cocktails, we’re fine,” Jon said with a wink.

  “Really?” Lola snapped. “That’s the way you’re telling this story?”

  “Come on, Lo,” he whispered.

  “No, since it’s story time, let me tell these strangers why I gave you a divorce for Christmas and how you came here to save our marriage, but you’ve still been chatting away on your cell phone, just like you always do. But you want to rewrite this story to impress people who don’t even know us.”

  The woman looked from Lola to Jon and then focused on her husband. “Okay, this is our floor,” she said when the elevator stopped.

  “No, it isn’t,” he said.

  She grabbed his arm and gave him a gentle nudge and they exited the elevator. “Look at you running people away,” Jon s
aid.

  “Better than pretending we’re a happy couple on holiday, and don’t you dare act as if you didn’t have a part in that!”

  Jon sighed and leaned his head back on the wall. Lola kicked the emergency stop button and brought that cart to a halt. “Why did you do that?” he asked.

  “Because I want you to put me down,” she said, her voice calm. Jon obliged. Lola stood toe-to-toe with him, torn between anger and desire. As much as she claimed that she didn’t like his take-charge attitude, she had to admit, he was turning her on. What in the hell is wrong with me? she thought as she stared at him.

  “Lola,” he said. “I know I sound like a broken record, but I’m not walking away from us when we can fix it.”

  “You didn’t even think something was wrong. So, how are you going to fix it, Oliver Pope?”

  “Oliver Pope? That’s funny.”

  Lola wasn’t in the mood to laugh. She was mad and sure that hotel security would start the elevator moving again soon. “Jon, I’m tired of being ignored. I’m tired of feeling like an afterthought in your life. I don’t understand why you can’t get that through your head.”

  “I understand what you’re saying, but you know why this company is important to me. You know this isn’t just about money and . . .”

  “Yes, you want everyone you love to be taken care of, but don’t you think we deserve more?”

  “More?”

  She stomped her foot and rolled her eyes. “More time with you. More nights with you in my arms. Damn it, Jon, when is the last time we made love? Do you know how much I miss you—touching me, kissing me?”

  Jon pressed her against the wall. “Lola, you know I . . .”

  “I don’t know a damned thing because I don’t get to have conversations with you without scheduling an appointment with your damn assistant. Oh, and could you thank her for the Tiffany’s gift that was delivered.”

  “You don’t have to make an appointment to talk to me and you know this.”

  She rolled her eyes and fell against him as the elevator began moving again. “How do you plan to fix this when you still have your phone attached to your hip. I feel it vibrating right now.”

  Jon kissed her nose. “We’re going to get away from everything and make this right,” he said.

  Lola stepped away from him and headed toward the open door. She half-expected to see hotel security officers to be standing there waiting. Jon followed, after he checked his phone. It had been the driver. The car was ready. He headed toward his wife and gripped her waist. “Let’s go,” he said.

  “What?”

  He guided Lola to the door and the awaiting limousine in front of the hotel. “We’re leaving,” he said.

  “And going where?”

  “To the airport. I’m going to prove to you that I’m willing to do anything I need to do to save this marriage.”

  “I am not spending Christmas in Miami.”

  “We’re not going back to Miami, right now.”

  She folded her arms across her chest. “Right, like you don’t have some virtual crisis that you’re not dealing with?”

  “Lola, get in the car.”

  “What if I say no?” she asked, looking from him to the driver holding the door open. Jon slumped his shoulders. “Babe, please.” His voice—low and sorrowful—made Lola think about everything that was going on. Jon wanted to save their marriage, she wanted to save their marriage. But damn it, things needed to change.

  “Okay,” she said, then slid into the car. Jon slipped in and sat beside her.

  “You sure made this difficult,” he said.

  Lola raised her right eyebrow but kept silent. Jon smiled, then tapped the window separating them from the driver, signaling him to pull off.

  “Wait,” she said. “I need to call Tash and let her know what’s going on.” She held her hand out. “I left my phone in the suite.”

  Jon handed her his iPhone. Watching her call her friend, he focused on her lips and felt a stirring in his groin. It had been a long time—three weeks, a month—since he and Lola had made love. Damn! She licked her bottom lip and laughed, Jon was as hard as a brick. Easing closer to her, he brushed his lips against her neck. “Umm, Tash, you have fun and be careful because Langston is a charmer.” Jon wrapped his arms around his wife’s waist and pulled her closer. Lola expelled a gasp when she felt his tongue dance against her neck. “I have to go.”

  The phone fell to the floor and she shifted in her seat. “Jonathan Michael,” she intoned, “what are you doing?”

  “I know it hasn’t been that long for you to have to ask,” he said as he took her hand and placed it on his thick erection.

  “Well, it has been a while,” she replied as she stroked him through his slacks. Then she unbuttoned and unzipped his pants. “I guess it’s time to see if I know what I’m supposed to do next,” she said with a wanton tint to her voice.

  “Well, if you need instructions . . .” he said as he felt the heat of Lola’s breath on the tip of his penis.

  When she took him deep inside her mouth, Jon knew she didn’t need instructions and she hadn’t forgotten how to drive him wild. Suck, lick, nibble, lick, and suck. As her head bobbed up and down, Jon cried out in pleasure. She was controlling his body and feeding that dormant hunger of his sexual desire.

  She pulled back from him and looked into his eyes. “If I were a cruel woman, I’d stop right now.”

  “Lo, you wouldn’t,” he said as he tugged at the neckline of her top.

  “Then you’d have an idea of how I’ve felt the past few months,” she whispered as she wiggled out of her pants.

  “Baby,” he said as he gripped her hips while she mounted him. “Forgive me.” Easing between her wet folds of flesh, Jon felt as if he’d entered paradise. Lola gripped him tightly, making him feel as if she was milking the life from him. God, how he’d missed making love to her. She controlled his body the way no one else could. She made him realize there was no other woman he could ever love. No other woman he wanted to spend his life with. And he wasn’t going to lose her.

  Lola moaned, leaned in, and nibbled at Jon’s ear as she was brought to the brink of pleasure, to the edge of an orgasm. Jon wasn’t far behind, trying to keep the fire building in his groin at bay until he saw the satisfaction across her comely face. There it was and right on time because Jon exploded, spilling his seed deep inside Lola’s valley.

  She fell against his chest and pressed her ear against his chest. Jon couldn’t help but smile. “Why do you do that?” he asked as he stroked her forehead.

  “Your heartbeat calms me down,” she said. “And this used to be how I’d go to sleep.”

  “Used to be?”

  She propped up on his chest with her elbows. “Jon, you haven’t been in the bed with me in a long time.”

  “You keep reminding me of that.”

  “Because it’s a fact that you need to be reminded of! Don’t ruin the afterglow right now,” she said, then sucked her teeth.

  Jon was about to reply when the driver tapped on the window. “Sir, we’ve arrived at the airport.”

  “Give us a few minutes,” he replied. Lola reached for her clothes and Jon grabbed her arm.

  “What?” she asked.

  “It’s not as if we have to head to a gate and get tickets. Besides, you’re ruining the afterglow,” he quipped, then kissed her cheek.

  “Whatever,” she said quietly, and snuggled closer to Jon. “Why did it take all of this for us to get back to . . .”

  “Lola, I can’t read your mind and you know why. . . .”

  “All I know is that you are never around and you trot me out to show your investors and board members that you have a family life. I’m like a shiny doll you keep on the shelf.”

  “That’s how you really feel? Lola, do you remember eating spaghetti for dinner because I was trying to write code and you had to work at Bank of America?”

  “Don’t you know that’s been my favorite
Christmas that we’ve ever spent together. It was so hot in Orlando and my husband gave me a white Christmas.”

  “Really?” Jon stroked her cheek. “I felt like I’d let you down that day.”

  She locked eyes with him and saw a flicker of the old Jon there. He always thought that he wasn’t doing enough. Lola remembered his late nights at the dining room table in that one-bedroom in Orlando. She would keep a pot of coffee brewed and his favorite late-night snack—honey roasted peanuts—handy. One day, she knew her husband would be successful. But she had no idea that their relationship would be a casualty of his success.

  “You never let me down, Jon. I loved you before all of this and if it went away tomorrow, I’d still love you.”

  “I know that, but—”

  “No buts! You’re supposed to be at a point in your life right now where you shouldn’t have to spend every moment working.”

  “Lola,” he began. “You don’t know what it was like after my father died.”

  “You’re right, I don’t. But are you forgetting that you’re not the only one who has a past?”

  Jon stroked Lola’s cheek. He never told her about his brief childhood in Cuba. Never talked about how his mother was never accepted by his father’s family and how Diego Joseph left behind the comfort of his wealthy family for the woman he loved. Diego became a sugar plantation worker to support Mama Joseph and their growing family. Jon had been about four years old when there had been a tropical storm that had destroyed the family’s cottage. They had lost everything. Jon remembered how he’d watched his clothes, toys, and books float away in the flood. He’d remembered how his mother and father clutched him and Langston against their chests and whispered prayers of thanksgiving because they were all alive.

  Alive, but homeless. His mother had pleaded with Diego to reach out to his family. “No,” he’d said. “My mother doesn’t want anything to do with me or my children. Rena, I’m going to make sure this family never has to crawl to anyone for anything.”