Dirty Money

by Michelle Love

  I find Benny looking at me and he mouths, ‘That looks good on you, Baby.’

  The urge to shoot the finger comes over me but all the people watching us has me not going through with that.

  Benny has made no secret one day he wants to marry me. One day!

  Well, I think a girl should get a bit more than that. I mean, sure he bought a house and my name is on it too. And that should be better than any engagement ring. But the fact is, it’s not.

  The snooty bitches here have very rudely pointed that fact out too many times to count. I’ve been introduced as Benjamin’s girlfriend and nothing more than that.

  I’ve spotted a few of the women talking in hushed tones about me being far too average for a man of Benny’s social stature. And that’s true. If he was all about his social place in New York circles, then he wouldn’t ever be happy with me.

  That’s not my cup of tea so to speak.

  But Benny isn’t about that life. He’s about freedom. The outdoors. The open road. That kind of stuff.

  Not sitting around a country club, gossiping about what the wanderers did on their European trip that cost them gazillions of dollars.

  No, my Benny is a man who likes the smell of an open fire and to sit underneath a blanket of stars in a desolate part of the country. Listening to the sounds that the night creatures make and holding me in his arms as he sings a song to me.

  That’s my Benny!

  I sway with my niece back and forth and find myself gazing at the man who stands across the aisle from me and he looks back at me.

  He makes me smile as he runs his hand over his stomach then makes a gesture of it all rounded out and nods at me. I shake my head at him and he smiles at me with those pearly whites of his.

  Suddenly, I realize we’re at the part where I need to hand my grandmother the ring she’ll slip onto her new husband’s finger and I have to maneuver my now sleeping niece so I can pull it from the little pouch that’s hanging from my right wrist.

  I manage to get it out and place it in my waiting grandmother’s palm as she smiles at me with infinite patience only the elderly have.

  My attention goes to her and my new grandpa as they seal the deal with the rings and then they kiss. It’s a long and very smoochy kiss for such old people.

  It makes my heart skip a beat as I think about loving someone so completely at that age.

  I wonder if I’ll still love Benny when I’m as old as she is?

  They end their kiss as their guests clap and my side of the family cheers like a bunch of second-class citizens. But Benny’s grandfather smiles, and it seems to make him happy.

  I don’t know how Benny grew up with these people and didn’t see this side of them at all. He always talked about how stuffy and snobby they all are. But they’re nice.

  Do they have little eccentric ways?

  Well, yeah. But who doesn’t have little idiosyncrasies?

  My gran and new gramps walk down the aisle hand in hand then I feel Benny’s hand slip over mine as he leads us down the aisle behind them. His lips press my neck near my ear. “I love you, Princess.”

  I’m pretty sure I’m blushing as heat fills my cheeks and I whisper, “I love you too, Benny.”

  My sister’s husband catches up to us and takes his sleeping oldest daughter out of my arms, thankfully as she was getting very heavy. Then Benny spirits me away to a small room off the main church.

  “Benny, what are you doing? They’re about to get in the car and leave,” I say as he drags me inside the little room and closes the door behind us.

  He presses me against the door and kisses me. It takes my mind off my leaving grandmother and all I can think about is running my arms around him and pulling him closer to me.

  When he ends the kiss, I’m light headed and when he gets on one knee, I’m close to fainting. “What are you doing, Benny?”

  “Shh,” he says as he pulls a shiny thing out of his pocket. He takes my shaking hand and looks up at me. “Angel Jennings, my life began when I laid eyes on your beautiful face. I didn’t even realize I was living life as a zombie until I met you. You helped me integrate my two sides and I’ve never felt more whole. Only I’m not complete yet. Without you, I’m not the whole enchilada that I can be.”

  I giggle a little with his words and then stop as it all gets very real when a tear falls over his cheek. My heart stops and I want nothing more than to kiss it away. “Oh, Benny.”

  “Shh,” he says to me again. “Let me finish this. My life will never be complete until you become my wife. So I’m asking you, Angel Jennings, if you will do me the great honor of becoming Mrs. Benjamin Franklin Worthington, later on this evening in Las Vegas?”

  “Today?” I ask in complete surprise.

  He nods. “What do you say, Baby?”

  My knees get weak and I go down on them to get on the same level he is. “I say yes, Benny. Yes, I’ll marry you tonight in Vegas.”

  He slips the ring on my shaking finger then pulls me into his arms and kisses me in a way he’s never done before. Soft and sweet yet hard and permanent.

  This is all about to be permanent and here I was only a few minutes ago preparing myself for moving out of our house tomorrow.

  Things can change so quickly!

  BLAZE

  Little feet pound the pavement as a horde of small children run past us and jump all at once into the swimming pool of the Vegas hotel.

  “My God!” Angel says under her breath as the parents of the little munchkins come up behind us. “It’s past midnight!”

  One of the mothers walks up next to her and says, “I know. That’s why we’re letting them swim off some of their inexhaustible energy. We all have husbands we’d like to spend a few moments of time with on this vacation.”

  Angel looks suitably embarrassed by getting caught and apologizes, “Sorry, it’s just that I’m beyond exhausted. My grandmother got married this afternoon, and I was her maid of honor then this guy here asked me to marry him and we just got done with that and now we’re going up to our hotel suite and I’m kind of crabby.”

  The woman frowns at Angel then looks at me. “Don’t worry. That’s how most wedding nights end up, anyway. Both people falling asleep without even touching each other. It’s to be expected after such a long day and it sounds like she’s had a hell of a long day.”

  Angel nods. “And I’m so damn hungry for some reason. I’ve been snacking like non-stop all day and I’m still hungry. My stomach has been so weird feeling. I was thinking it was because of being in my grandmother’s wedding but now I’m thinking it might be a virus. A really weird one that makes you hungry.”

  Another one of the mothers walks up and says, “You know I was that way through my entire first pregnancy. Hungry all the time. Never could get enough to eat.”

  “Well, that’s not my problem.” Angel looks at me with a little bit of horror on her beautiful face. “Right? It can’t be that! Right?”

  I shrug my shoulders. “Wouldn’t bother me one little bit if that was the case, Mrs. Worthington.”

  Angel’s eyes move over the kids who are all swimming and jumping off the sides of the large swimming pool. She looks over the one mother of the pack who holds a sleeping baby in her arm like a sack of potatoes. Then she bursts into tears.

  The women all look at her with understanding in their eyes and one of them says, “You better get her to the room. She’s had it for today.”

  “Milk and cookies should do the trick,” another offers as I take my brand new wife inside the huge hotel.

  She’s crying softly, but she’s still crying as we go inside and get on the elevator. There’s one other couple in the elevator who look at her then me. The man asks, “Hard night?”

  I shake my head. “Nah, not really. We just got married and this one here just had the idea that she might be pregnant put into her head. That’s all.”

  Angel turns to me and buries her face in my chest to hide her tears. Then the woman
offers, “You can call the desk clerk and they’ll send up a pregnancy test. I had to do that on our last trip here. I took one drink of a rum and coke and puked everything up. John told me I needed to take a pregnancy test before I put even one little bit of alcohol into my body. So we went to the room and made the phone call, and thirty minutes later I knew that trip to Vegas was going to be alcohol-free.”

  Angel gulps back her tears. “Did you cry?”

  “Sure,” the woman says, as if every woman cries when she finds out that kind of great news.

  “So, I am normal?” Angel asks.

  The woman nods as the elevator stops and just before they get off she offers a word of encouragement, “Don’t worry if you are. This man loves you. Anyone can see that.”

  The elevator doors close and she looks up at me with red-rimmed eyes. “You do, don’t you?”

  I nod and kiss the top of her head then pick her up as the elevator comes to a stop at the penthouse then I take her to our suite.

  Laying her gently on the bed, I ask, “Should I call and get you one of those things, Baby?”

  “I’m on the pill,” she says and gets up to go pull them out of her bag. She shows them to me. “See, I’ve taken them every day just like I’m supposed to.”

  I take the pack out of her hand and look at the back and my nose wrinkles up instinctively. “Angel, these are a year past the expiration date.”

  “What?” She grabs the pack out of my hands. Her eyes go round as she looks back at me. “Oh my God, Benny! That means I could be a couple of months pregnant! I didn’t even notice the damn date and I got these and last months at the same time from my doctor. The idiot! Call the desk. Call them now.”

  She runs to the bathroom and I hear her throwing up. I laugh and shake my head as I pick up the phone in the room. “Hi, I need a couple of things. One pregnancy test and one bottle of non-alcoholic champagne, please.”

  Just as I hang up, she comes out completely naked and pointing at her stomach. “I thought I was bloated. I thought maybe I was getting a little tummy because I’ve been snacking so much. Feel this.” She takes my hand and places it on her stomach that is a little bit bigger but not much.

  “I can’t tell, Baby. But we’ll be fine either way. You know we will.”

  She falls backward onto the bed and looks at the ceiling. “This is awful. If I am pregnant, then everyone will think you only married me because of that.”

  I lean over and kiss her cheek. “Who cares what anyone thinks?”

  “It’ll make the New York Times. I know it will. I can see the headline now, ‘Benjamin Worthington married a nobody because he got her pregnant.’ It’ll be everywhere.”

  I have to laugh. “Okay, first thing, that’s no kind of headline. Second, it will never make the news. Third, who gives a fuck?”

  A knock comes at the door and she sits up quickly. “Go get it and bring me the thingy to the bathroom.” She shoots into the bathroom as I go to the door.

  The man at the door hands me a discreet brown paper bag and the bottle of champagne and a basket of fruit. He has a big grin as he asks, “Are we happy about this?”

  I nod. “Very.”

  “Great!” he says as he places the things on a small table near the door. “I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you guys then.”

  After reading the directions to make sure she does this right, I take the test to her. She’s chewing at her fingernail as I walk in. “Here, Baby. Pee on this then lay it on this tissue on the counter top. Then I want you to put on one of these fluffy robes and come out to me. In ten minutes you and I will come back in here together and see what it says.”

  She nods. “K.”

  I leave her alone because I know she needs a bit of space to do what she has to. Grabbing two champagne glasses, I fill them up and leave them on the table. I sit on the sofa and in no time she’s coming out.

  A white robe is covering her now, and she looks nervous as hell. I wiggle my finger at her and she comes to me.

  Taking her hand, I pull her to sit on my lap. I pull her hair out of the bobby pins that are holding her hair up and run my hands through it to make the long waves hang down.

  “You’re really beautiful, Angel.” I push the robe back and kiss her shoulder.

  She smiles at me and runs her hands over my face. “And you are too, Benny,”

  I pull her to me and take her lips with a deep kiss. A kiss that lets her know I love her with everything in me. A kiss that tells her everything will be okay. A kiss that tells her I’m happy no matter what.

  The kiss gets me hot for her and I lay her back on the sofa and move my body over hers. Her legs wrap around me and I grind against her. A low moan comes out of her, making our mouths vibrate.

  One breast finds its way into my hand and I squeeze it as our mouths take us to places only they can. My cock is straining inside the tuxedo pants and I somehow manage to kick my shoes off then her hand finds my zipper and the button keeping my pants on and she frees me up.

  Opening her robe, I push it back and press my aching cock into her as she arches up to me. “Benny,” she moans as I enter her.

  I move my mouth to kiss her neck as I move inside her and make gentle thrusts. “Angel Worthington, you taste delicious.” I suck her sweet skin and make her moan and writhe underneath me.

  She unbuttons my shirt and runs her hands under it, all over my back. “Your body feels even better now that you’re all mine, Benny.”

  I look at her with a smile and kiss the tip of her nose. “I am all yours, Angel. And you are all mine.”

  She’s so gorgeous my insides ache knowing I get to look at her every day and every night. The way her legs wrap around me has her holding me to her and my thrusts are short.

  She runs her hand over my head and looks at me intensely. “We’re married, Benny. That’s so weird.”

  “I wouldn’t use the word, weird, my Angel.” I kiss her cheek. “I’d use fantastic.”

  She bites her lower lip and says, “Yeah, it’s that too.”

  “You know you’re a very rich woman now, Mrs. Worthington. What’s the first thing you want to buy?” I ask, as I pump slow and easy into her wet depths.

  “I think my first purchase is going to be a tattoo of my name right over your heart. What do you think about that?” She runs her hand over the empty spot on my chest and I run my fingertips over the same spot on her.

  “If I can see my name right here, then you can put your name right there,” I say then kiss the place just above her plump and juicy left breast.

  She nods, “Deal. And I’m putting my new last name across the top of my wrist. Like a built in bracelet.”

  I smile and kiss her and know I married the right one for me.

  Our bodies move together like they were built for this. And suddenly I want all of our clothes off. I pull away from her and pull my clothes all the way off as she watches me.

  Then I pick her up and carry her to the bed. I place her feet on the floor and take the robe all the way off then lay her back on the bed and look at her for the longest time.

  This woman is mine. To love, care for, and take care of. She is my responsibility and always will be. Instead of feeling a weight on my shoulders, I feel an energy I’ve never felt before.

  Her blue eyes look up at me and her face is void of any emotion as she holds her arms out to me. I go into them and her face fills with light. “I love you, Benny.”

  I kiss her and know all is right with us.

  ANGEL

  The day finally took its toll on us and after we made love, we fell asleep. The light peeking in from the heavily curtained window wakes me up. Benny snores next to my ear as he holds me in his arms.

  It’s the best sound I’ve ever heard.

  Then the fog clears and I remember what’s waiting for us in the bathroom. I nudge him in the ribs and he grunts as he wakes up.

  His warm lips touch my shoulder. His voice is scratchy as he says, “Good morning,
Mrs. Worthington.”

  “Good morning. Do you think you’re ready to go see what that test in the bathroom has for us?”

  He moans a little as he squeezes me. “I completely forgot about that. All I could think about was you. And how happy I am you’re mine now.”

  I turn in his arms and look at him then run my hand through his dark blonde hair. “I’m happy too. More than I knew was possible. Funny how a little piece of paper makes things feel so permanent.”

  He pulls my left hand from underneath the blanket and kisses the wedding set on it. “And the rings help too.”

  I nod and bring his left hand to my lips and kiss the one on his finger too. “Yes, they do.”

  “Okay,” he says as he looks into my eyes and runs his hand over my cheek. “We’re happy no matter what the outcome of that test is. Okay?”

  I nod. “What else can we be?”

  “Well, you could get all weepy again. That’s no good,” he says with a frown.

  I smack him in the arm. “Hey, I might not be able to help that!”

  He rubs his arm, “Ow!”

  I raise my eyebrow at him and give him that look that says not to mess with me. “Well!”

  “Okay. If you have to cry for reasons I’ll never understand then do it and I’ll try not to laugh at you. It won’t be easy, but I’ll try.” He gets out of bed and puts on the fluffy white robe that’s lying over the chair near him and I get out of bed and pick up the one he pulled off me last night from the floor and put it on.

  “Come on, Big Papa,” I say as I hold out my hand for him.

  He laughs and smacks my ass. “You come on, Big Momma.”

  I shake my head. “Baby, there’s not a woman on the planet that likes to be called big anything.”

  He laughs again. “Got ya. Come on, Lil’ Momma.”

  So into the bathroom we go to see what we’re doing here. Partying like rock stars or like pregnant people.