by Rosemary Rey
The men hugged and patted each other’s back loudly. Matt thanked Zipper for his work, and told him they would see each other on Friday. As they exchanged words, I hugged myself, not knowing what to do. Walking out didn’t seem like an option.
“Perla. I’ll take you to work.”
“Actually, I’m going to take the T. It’s just a few stops away.”
“No. I’ll drive you.”
“Matt.” I sighed exasperatedly. “I’ve conceded a lot today. This whole crazy thing is one big concession. If you want, you can walk me to the T, which is a few blocks over.”
“No.” He walked over to me, stood before me, and pulled me into his arms. “I haven’t been with you for a week. I can’t bear the thought of being apart from you now. I’ll drive you to work.” He leaned in and gave me a deep kiss. His tongue softly slid over my sealed lips. I missed his scent and taste. My heart beat fast, hurting my chest and taking my breath out of my lungs.
A knock on the door pulled us out of our passionate embrace. We pulled away as the door opened. “Oh, I’m sorry Dr. Keene. We have another meeting in here which is supposed to start shortly. I can find you another room to . . .” She cleared her throat, “talk.” She smiled at both of us. I smiled with embarrassment.
“No need, Tara. My fiancée and I are about to leave.” He smiled. My face heated as my stomach roiled with the word ‘fiancée’. Tara, the receptionist who greeted us when we arrived, backed out of the door and left it ajar. Matt gave me a kiss on the forehead and pulled away, sliding his hand from my back down my arm until our hands joined. He walked ahead, leading me out of the door. We walked toward the elevators, and I was in a daze.
There was a moment of lucidity when I realized we’d arrived at Matt’s car. He opened the door for me and held me close before allowing me to take a seat. His body was pressed to mine, warming me more than the summer heat and the non-existent ventilation in the parking ramp.
“I can’t wait to make you my wife. This is hard for you, I know, but I will spend the rest of my life making our beginning a thing of the past. This is our new beginning. Tonight will be a celebration; just the two of us.” His large hands held my jaw and he pulled me in as he dipped down to kiss me. I wanted to celebrate, but no matter how much I tried to push away all my doubts, I grew increasingly anxious.
After I pulled away, I said, “I’ve got to get to work.” The moment was spoiled with my need to follow through on my responsibility.
“We need to do one last thing before I take you to the office. Soon, you won’t need to work, and I can keep you all for myself.”
“Do we need to revisit the job clause of the prenup?” I reminded. He avoided answering by kissing me again. Matt pulled away, releasing me from his grip.
“Sit. We have one more stop and then we’ll get you to work.” He gave me a hard swat on my bottom, causing tingles to course from my cheek to my loins. I cursed myself for being aroused by the slap. Refraining from asking him for more when we’re behind closed doors, I sat down and started pulling pins from my hair. I gently slipped the rubber band off of my damp tendrils. I ran my fingers through my hair.
When I turned to see why Matt hadn’t started the car, I noticed him watching me release my hair, much like the first time I did in his office many months ago. When my eyes reached his brown eyes, I melted as he watched me with so much love. I hadn’t been looked at like that in years. And I couldn’t understand how we could battle for over ninety minutes and still be so in love. ‘Love is an irrational emotion, but I need it.’ I thought. I smiled at him.
Matt turned over the engine, and placed his hand on the gear shift. Once he placed the gear in first, I softly placed my hand over his hand, so as not to disrupt the shifting of gears. He smiled. “You can’t use my hand in this car. Unlike my other vehicle, I need my hand to drive.” He reminded me of when I encouraged him to finger me on the drive home. I smacked his hand and crossed my arms, pouting in embarrassment. He laughed at my childish behavior and drove out of the parking ramp.
Matt took a slightly different direction than the usual way to Duration. “Where are we going?”
“We’re getting our marriage license. You have your identification, right?” This was becoming too real.
“Yes.” I looked ahead at the traffic.
“We should get it now. Have it in hand before you change your mind.”
“It’s not like you’re giving me a chance to walk away.”
“You can always walk away, but I will always be with you.” It was said with sincerity and love.
Matt pulled up to a parking ramp and parked the car. We walked in silence toward City Hall Square. I remember making this walk before. I had just graduated from college, and Ben asked me to marry him at a small graduation party our families had collectively planned. We picked up our license a couple of weeks before our wedding. We planned our wedding within six months of our engagement. It was a medium sized affair in the South Shore, mostly attended by Ben’s side of the family who were a large contingency of Argentinians of Italian origin. We had a terrific time, Spanish and Italian music sung by two bands. Everything was paid for by Ben’s family, which meant I had very little input on the wedding.
Matt led the way to City Hall. We found the office and I was in a panic when I saw the long line of people waiting to obtain their marriage certificates. I looked at him and he looked as relaxed as ever, walking past the line of people waiting to be served. Matt went to the desk and was asked if he needed assistance. I looked behind me and smiled weakly at the people with annoyed looks on their faces.
“Yes. I’m her to see Ms. Clara Fenton. I have an appointment. I’m Dr. Keene.” I looked at him quizzically.
“Right this way, Dr. Keene.” The female attendant with the name tag of Theresa Rodale, opened a wooden half door. We walked through the opening and were lead to Ms. Fenton’s front door. Matt knocked with his free hand, maintaining a firm grip on my hand.
“Come in.” Ms. Fenton said from inside of the office. Matt opened the door, and I followed after he entered.
Matt extended his hand to Ms. Fenton. “Ms. Fenton, Dr. Mathias Keene. We spoke yesterday about getting our marriage license. Thank you for meeting with us.”
“Yes, of course. I’ve been expecting you. I took the liberty of gathering the paperwork. I just need to get your identifications.” She found a manila folder and opened it. I looked at Matt who was reaching for his wallet. I mimicked his actions and reached into my purse for my wallet. I pulled out my driver’s license and handed it to Ms. Fenton. She checked the information on our driver’s license, compared and confirmed our information. After returning our identification, she had us sign the application and the certificate. Matt pulled a check from the inner pocket of his jacket, offering it to Ms. Fenton. Ms. Fenton stamped the check and the certificate with two different stamps. She explained we couldn’t get married for three consecutive days, and the certificate would expire in sixty days. We thanked her for her time and assistance. Matt stuffed the envelope containing our marriage license in the inner pocket of his jacket. We walked out of Ms. Fenton’s office, exiting the work area, and walked out of the busy office. The line didn’t seem to have gotten any smaller.
“I can’t believe we just bypassed all those people back there.” I said when we were at a safe distance from prying ears.
“Well, sometimes we have the means to get ahead in line, and we must take it.” I pondered his statement. “Let’s get you to work.” He said.
FIVE
The nervous anticipation of seeing Matt affected the rest of the day. There wasn’t much to do at work, which didn’t help me take my mind off Matt and our prenup meeting. I would rather have forgotten our negotiations. We were both very passionate about our goals and expectations. How could we go about our lives from this day forward knowing the other had sacrificed their greatest wishes?
I managed to conclude my shift at Duration without gouging my eyes out. I went
to the women’s locker room to assess my look for the evening dinner with Matt. I freshened up my makeup. On my tiptoes while wearing flats, I spun around in my dress looking for wrinkles or loose threads. Matt was right, I had lost some weight. I looked great in my opinion. Because Matt loved my body with the added pounds, I hadn’t planned on losing weight. I had finally met a man who was turned on by my curves and he had to break my heart. The curse of the sisters swirled through my mind. I shook my head and walked out with my purse and heels in hand to see if Matt was waiting for me at the front desk.
“No fair. You got to shower and change. I’m still wearing the same thing since this morning.” I pouted. He looked so handsome and comfortable in sand colored slacks and a navy t-shirt.
“You look beautiful.” He gripped my waist and planted a kiss on the side of my lips, no doubt trying to preserve my lipstick which was his usual way. My body immediately heated at his touch, and my nipples pearled under the crush of his chest. “Are you ready to go?” He asked breathily. I could see his desire for me in his hooded eyes. The usual magnetic pull between us was still strong.
“Where are we going?” I asked, and I couldn’t help but hear the excitement in my own voice.
“You’ll see.” He said, leading me toward the elevator to the parking ramp. “How was your day?” He asked. He always asked how my day went. More than I could say about my ex. Ben always talked about himself or his job. It never seemed to matter if I had an experience or goal to share too.
“It was slow. Always is during the summer. I’m re-evaluating my professional goals.” I answered.
“Well, you don’t have to work there anymore, if you don’t want to.” Matt responded without hesitation.
I looked at him incredulously because we’d had this conversation soon after our negotiations. I felt a little awkward about getting into this discussion again. “Is it what you really want? You want a wife who stays home and does nothing? Isn’t that what your first wife did? How did that turn out?” I barraged him with questions. He didn’t answer right away. I knew I’d struck a nerve, but I couldn’t help my cattiness. I needed to get my anger out. No matter the outcome of our relationship, I wanted full control over my career.
“Let me explain further. I’m just suggesting you could take it easier now that you have no more debt and are in possession of a lot of money. You can take a break from working and figure out what you want to do next. You can also start your own business, if you like. The money is there for your investment in whatever way you want.” It sounded ideal. I didn’t have the first clue what I’d do with that much money if it just fell on my lap. I didn’t want his money because it didn’t feel like mine. I would’ve preferred winning the lottery, a lawsuit, or finding a briefcase with gold bars than to have him give me his money.
We rode the elevator to the car, and soon arrived at his convertible. He opened the door for me and closed it after I stepped in. I reached into my purse to find my scarf. I loved riding with the top down, but didn’t want my hair to be windblown and frizzed up before arriving at the restaurant. Matt must’ve taken a look at me opening the scarf and pressed the button to automatically close the roof. “Thank you. I didn’t want to look like a poodle at the end of this ride.” He laughed at my quip.
He drove off, heading toward the highway. We rode in silence as I read the road signs. We were driving north toward his mansion. I figured there was a cozy restaurant he wanted us to dine in. I reflected back to all the places we’d gone to during our dating period, and realized we hadn’t really done a dinner date. I was excited to finally be taken out because we never did a traditional dinner at a restaurant. Our relationship started fast and furious, and ended as abruptly.
I hated the silence between us. Before discovering he used me, we had come to a place in our relationship where we could talk easily or sit together in comfortable silence. I wasn’t at ease with him anymore. I wasn’t sure why I agreed to dinner. It would’ve been better to be together on Friday, after the prenup was signed. However, I couldn’t go on without being near him, smell his intoxicating manly fragrance, and feeling the strength of his large, muscular body.
“Are we going to your place up North?” He smiled at my question. We’d argued about us living there. “We’d agreed to abstain and not do sleep overs for the thirty days before the ceremony.” I reminded.
“We haven’t signed the agreement, yet.” He looked over with a devious grin, which made my insides shriek. “After dinner, I’m hoping we can have a nice quiet evening at home. Taking you back to the apartment wouldn’t be such a good idea so soon after our fight.” He reduced our break up to a fight. I bit my tongue to keep from arguing. “We’ll spend the night there. I packed a bag for you from the things you left at the apartment. I’ll drive you to work in the morning.” He said, making his way to our romantic dinner for two.
*****
We ate at a Mexican Restaurant in town. It was a small restaurant tucked in a strip mall. I was a little surprised it wasn’t a fine dining, nouveau cuisine Mexican restaurant which is where I thought a billionaire doctor would go. He ordered beers for the both of us with a lime tucked in the tiny opening. Chips and salsa were filled and refilled by the generous wait staff. Matt ordered me a dish he claimed I would love. As we sat and talked, the mariachi band came over and sang love songs in Spanish which Matt kept there for an obscene amount of time by giving them extremely large tips. I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. It was awkward, but sweet.
Our discussions were about his travels throughout Mexico when he was in undergraduate school. When he graduated from medical school, he volunteered his time providing medical treatment to underprivileged patients. He asked me questions about my goals. I shared with him that Carson and I, at one time, hoped to start our own dance program to teach dance to underserved students. I told him about teaching students locally on Sunday. He was surprised I was close to town, revealing he stayed in the mansion after I rejected him because he couldn’t bear to be alone at the apartment. He looked sad. I told him I planned to continue assisting Carson on Sundays with his teaching sessions. Matt declared it was perfect because we could spend the weekends at the mansion, providing a shorter commute. After he offered to buy me a car, so I could get around. I chose to drive the Range Rover which was my dream vehicle.
The meal was divine and very filling. Another round of beers, which was not my usual drink, relaxed me. My animosity dropped significantly, which would bode well for his plans tonight. After refusing dessert, Matt paid the check and we took off toward his home. He referred to the mansion as our home. I didn’t think I would ever get used to owning such an expensive piece of real estate.
The jitters returned as we rode along the long driveway to his house. I said a silent prayer that I wouldn’t shut down and recoil from his touch and affection. Part of me couldn’t believe this man loved me and wanted me. All I wanted was to be caressed, kissed, held . . . to be unconditionally loved.
After parking in one of the four stalls in the garage, Matt retrieved our overnight bags, and brought them inside. We walked to the master bedroom. My pulse raced with the knowledge we’d be intimate once again. We’d only been apart for a week, but my body missed him. The competing emotions of mistrust battled with my desire to have him. There was definitely fear.
“Do you want anything before we go to bed?” Matt asked.
“Just water for the bedside.” I responded.
“I stocked the mini fridge in the room.” He replied. I nodded, forgetting his bedroom was fully equipped with many necessary items. His mansion felt more like a resort than a home. “Come upstairs, babe.” I followed him up the long staircase to the bedroom.
I could see why Matt wanted to keep this house. It was an absolute dream; spacious and bright with many rooms to fill with children and family visits. Matt placed our bags in the master closet. I walked to the mini fridge to retrieve water, and drank a long drag. Matt approached the side of my body, pres
sing himself against me. He kissed my temple, and breathed in my scent.
“I’ve missed you.” He said quietly. “Thank you for coming back to me.” With his two fingers, he pulled my chin up and kissed me deeply. I turned to feel his hard body against mine. I wanted no more apologies.
“For my sanity, I don’t want to talk about any of what happened unless we’re sitting in front of a shrink, okay?” His eyes were cast down and he nodded. I tiptoed up and gave him a peck on the lips.
I pulled away from his grip. “I’m going to make myself comfortable. I’ll be right back.
“Hurry.” He said gruffly.
I walked to the bathroom and shut the door. My nerves were frayed, but I tried to pretend all was fine. I removed my sheath dress. I cleaned up quickly to freshen up for him. I brushed my teeth and washed my face to remove the grime of the humid summer day.
When I was done with my ritual, I exited the bathroom in my nude colored bra and underwear. Nothing sexy about my undergarments, but Matt’s eyes widened with desire upon seeing me. Confirmation of his attraction to me came when he stalked over, wearing his boxers and he picked me up. My legs instantly wrapped around his waist as he walked us toward the king sized bed. We kissed as he sat us on the edge while straddling him. Matt reclined onto his back to lay us down.
Our kisses were gentle and passionate. In the heat of the moment, we pressed our bodies harder into each other. I felt like I was melting, being absorbed into his body as he thrust upward into my tingly mound. His large hands caressed and squeezed my flesh, confirming I was actually with him. I could barely take in a deep breath from his feverish kisses. Despite the fabric between us, his hard cock struck a nerve. Matt held my thighs down onto his groin, grinding upwards, hitting the sensitive nub which ached for release. I sat up, and gnashing against him to find my release. Just when I was close to coming, I stopped.