Déjà Vu

by Suzetta Perkins

  With tears still flowing, she lifted her head and proceeded out of the parking lot unaware that Edward had passed in front of her and parked his car near the front of the hotel. There was no need to delay her decision about what to do with her marriage. It was settled. Whenever Jefferson returned home, his things would be waiting at the front door or on the sidewalk. She didn’t care which. This would be the last night they would share the same address. The hunger pangs would have to wait. There was one stop Margo had to make before she headed home.

  Horns blared as Margo weaved in and out of traffic, cutting off two or three victims of her reckless driving. She honked back, oblivious to the fact that she was the culprit that was deserving of those honks. Ten minutes later, Margo jerked the car to an abrupt stop in front of SuperComp Technical Solutions.

  With her purse swinging at her side, Margo rushed from the car as if it were on fire. She was a woman on a mission, but not to purchase a computer or any other piece of electronics.

  Surprise registered on Malik’s face as he saw Margo making her way toward him. There was alarm on her face. “What’s wrong, Margo?” Malik asked, assuring his customer that he would return in a moment.

  “I need to talk to you,” she said, “but not here.”

  “Why don’t you go into my office, and when I’m finished with this customer, we can go wherever you want,” Malik suggested. “It’ll take a few minutes.”

  Margo waited ten to twenty minutes before Malik returned. The wait was driving her crazy. She couldn’t let go of the last image she had of Jefferson and Angelica entering the hotel. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.

  “To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?” Malik started, shuffling a few papers on his desk and looking around for his jacket. “After yesterday, I thought you were too busy to see me.”

  There was no response from Margo. For the first time since she arrived, he stopped and took a good look at her. “What’s wrong?”

  “Angelica is in town.”

  “And why do you care? She’s probably here because of Hamilton.”

  Margo looked at Malik. He was thinking like a man, but she didn’t care. She needed someone to talk to. “I followed Angelica and Jefferson to a hotel this afternoon. And to think that bastard had the nerve to tell me that Angelica meant nothing to him and he was glad she was out of his life. I believed him.”

  “I tried to tell you earlier that that scheming witch was no good. I’ve never trusted her and could see straight through that demented mind of hers the moment she was back in town. With all of Jefferson’s professing to be in love with you, the first thing he does the moment Angelica rides back in town is to go sniffing like a hound. I told you he didn’t deserve you.”

  “Okay, that’s enough. Can we get out of here?”

  “Wherever you like. We’ll take my car.”

  Margo followed Malik to his car and got in without looking back or at him. Malik put the car in gear and drove away.

  “Where would you like to go?” he asked, not sure of Margo’s mood.

  “Why don’t we go to your place; I want to talk.”

  “We’re on our way, Ma’am.” Malik patted her thigh. Although she didn’t brush his hand away, Margo looked straight ahead.

  They rode in silence until Malik turned abruptly, hit the remote to raise the door to his underground garage and entered. It had been awhile since Margo was last here, and her body began to tense.

  Malik opened the car door. Margo followed him through a door that led into the foyer off to the right of the living area. Malik still maintained his love of art with new pieces by Poncho and Charles Bibbs merged in with the old ones that hung on the walls. The rooms were cozy, and Margo scanned them as she walked from one to another. She even managed a slight twirl as she also surveyed some of the African art pieces.

  “Beautiful,” Margo said, finally sitting on one of the oak bar stools that flanked the high-top counter that separated the kitchen from the living room.

  “You’re beautiful,” Malik said as he walked and stood in front of her. He took her hand and gently kissed her fingers. “Let me take your coat.”

  He watched as Margo graciously slid from the stool, one foot dropping to the floor and then the other. Malik moved behind her to catch her coat as it slid from her shoulders as if in slow motion. He sniffed her fragrance as he dragged her coat across his nose and then briefly shut his eyes. Intoxicated!

  After hanging up her coat, Malik invited Margo to sit with him in the living room. Margo began to share what she was feeling—the feeling of déjà vu. Margo’s lips moved but Malik was in a trance, smitten by the woman standing next to him.

  “Make love to me, Malik.”

  42

  Stunned was Malik’s word of choice. He was not sure he had heard her correctly. Three days ago, not even two minutes ago, Malik hadn’t thought he would own this moment. The woman he secretly admired, the woman he yearned for, the woman he had fallen in love with, had asked him to make love to her. He had waited what seemed a lifetime to hear those words, and now that they were spoken, he stood in front of her like a bump on a log. His pulse raced as the stark reality of what Margo said penetrated his brain. Looking at her, as she continued to stare at him, told him that the time was now if he ever planned on making this woman his.

  Malik resisted the urge to swiftly scoop Margo up and take her straight to his bedroom and make love to her. He would take his time and savor the moment, giving her what he knew she needed in time.

  “I love you, Margo,” Malik said.

  He brushed her hair away from her face and kissed her lips. Margo leaned into him and kissed him back full on the lips. Their tongues mated, and before long, Malik’s body lay alongside Margo’s, the arm of the couch giving them support. Hungrily, they savored the taste of each other’s lips.

  “I want you!” Malik cried out.

  “I want you, too,” Margo responded.

  Malik gently lifted Margo from the couch. He kissed her again as he hurriedly crossed the room and took her up the stairs to his bedroom. For the first time since Margo arrived at his place of business, Malik noticed her magenta, long-sleeved dress that hung right at the knees and defined her curves. She wore a smart pair of black pumps that accentuated the firm muscles in the calves of her legs.

  She wrapped her arms around him, and they found each other’s tongues again. He embraced her and their bodies locked, making cylindrical designs in the carpet as they tap-danced in place during the mating call. Finally, Margo kicked her pumps away, dropping a couple of inches shorter than she was previously, and Malik found the zipper that opened possibilities yet to be discovered.

  Margo wiggled out of her dress, exposing her lacey magenta underwear. A sexy teddy covered her bra and the high cut of her bikini panties accentuated the curves of her hips. Malik licked his lips as he watched Margo and removed his clothing at the same time.

  Margo walked seductively, slowly dragging one foot in front of the other until she was directly in front of him. She gazed at the length of his body and threw her arms around him, rubbing her body against his. Now she had seen what others only imagined.

  As much as Malik enjoyed Margo’s flirtatious advances, he was extremely surprised at her forwardness. He understood the reason she was with him, but he hoped that their being together was more than charity work. Malik loved a feisty woman who brought the passion with her—it cut down on half the work he had to do, but he was serious about his love for Margo, and he wanted this moment to be more than a one-night stand.

  “Are you sure about this, Margo? I don’t want you to have any regrets.”

  “I’m here, Malik. This is where I want to be—with you. Since the day you told me you loved me, I’ve been in constant turmoil with my feelings. It wasn’t until you said you loved me out loud that I realized I might have repressed my own feelings for you. But it also scared me because I wasn’t ready to announce to the world that I might be in l
ove with another man when I had promised myself that I would be there for Jefferson.”

  “What about Jefferson?” Malik asked, his tone serious.

  “What about him?”

  “Our confessions of love for each other mean that you’ll have to choose between me and Jefferson. It will be a difficult decision, but I’m sure you’ll make the right one.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t want my reputation tossed around like it was in a bargain basement sale. My mind is already made up, Malik. Now, are you going to make love to me?”

  Malik stared at this woman, who had thrown him off his elliptical course. She had his rapt attention, and he wasn’t going to waste any more time wondering what made her decide to make him a happy man. He took Margo’s hand and guided her to his bed with the overstuffed pillows that beckoned their bodies to become one.

  Making love to Margo wasn’t as easy as Malik thought. The casual foreplay led him to believe that she was ready to make a serious commitment and they would be rumbling in the tumbler for a long while, but his heart sank when Margo seemed content to only lie with him and make small talk. It certainly wasn’t what he envisioned as making love. Malik wanted Margo for far more than what lay between her beautiful legs, but a sampling of what he expected to receive on the regular would be a good start.

  She shared feelings about Malik that had lain dormant all the years he had spent time with her. If only he had known then what he knew now, he would have been more aggressive. Malik let Margo ramble until he was no longer listening, closing the doors of her lips with his own. She moaned.

  Malik took Margo’s shoulders and squeezed them gently, slowly moving his hands down the length of her arms. He continued to taste her tongue as he did so, and she responded in kind, letting out a satisfied moan every few seconds. So far, so good. Malik grazed her breast then guided his hand down over her tiny waist and up the hill to an ample helping of hips and lingered a moment, satisfied when Margo spent another healthy moan.

  Malik felt Margo’s hand move down the middle of his chest, circle his left breast and then the other. Feeling better about his route of travel, Malik lifted the edges of her lacy panties in the back and ran his hand along her smooth posterior, squeezing until she moaned again. There was no mistaking how aroused he was, and surely Margo knew it as well.

  Suddenly, Malik shifted his body so that Margo was underneath him instead of on her side. Her eyes were still closed when he took a second to peek, and he took the opportunity to move in for the kill.

  He slipped the straps of her bra from her shoulders and gently kissed the tops of her breasts as her hands moved to cover the tips of them. Whether she was shy or embarrassed, Malik was determined to cure Margo’s nerves. She clung to her breasts and shivered slightly but relaxed as Malik took control. Soon he was back to exploring, stopping to give her an occasional tongue lashing that she seemed to take with pleasure.

  It was only a matter of minutes before their love for one another was consummated. Margo was better than Malik had ever dreamed, and although they were resting from a first go-round, Malik was ready for round two, three, maybe four. He was sure that Margo enjoyed it as much as he did. She seemed content as she lay in the hollow of his arm.

  “What are we going to do now?” Margo asked Malik.

  “What do you mean? If you’re ready for me to make love to you again, I’m ready. It was wonderful.” Malik kissed Margo on the lips.

  Margo sat up. “What are we going to do about Jefferson?”

  “We’re going to tell him that we’re in love with each other,” Malik replied.

  “Are you in love or did you…did we…merely satisfy some lustful feeling that we have been harboring for sometime?”

  Surprise registered on Malik’s face. Surprise became concern. “Margo, I love you. This wasn’t some conquest to put a notch on my belt. I want us to be together for the rest of our lives. It may be wrong, but Jefferson doesn’t deserve you.”

  “Doesn’t mean it’s right.”

  “Listen to me. I’m the one who loves the woman who deserves much more than what she is getting. This is not a game to me, Margo, and so you know, I’m playing for keeps.”

  “Oh, Malik, I don’t know. I promised Jeff…”

  “Don’t you feel the same way, Margo? When you came here, you gave me the impression that you had come to a decision about your life with Jefferson. It was music to my ears because I’ve waited a long time for you to come to the realization that we were meant to be together.”

  “Malik, there is no doubt that you have been there for me the five years that Jefferson was in prison. In fact, you’ve made me feel like a whole woman.”

  “That didn’t happen until today. Shhhhhh,” Malik said, bringing his finger to his lips. “Let me make love to you again. Let me take care of you. I love you,” he whispered in her ear, fondling and pressing his nose up against her hair. “Your hair smells so good. You may not know this, but every time I was near you, I’d smell your hair. It always smells like honeysuckle.”

  Margo smiled. “You may not have known this, but I remembered the times you would get close to me and smell my hair. I often wondered what I would do if I had someone who was that attentive to me. Jefferson used to be that and more, but something happened in our lives to push him off track. Yes, Malik, I remember—I believe it was then that I began to lean on you.”

  Malik held her and began to caress her again. It was hard to tell what she was thinking with her eyes closed and no expression on her face, but he sought to make Margo his. It certainly wasn’t a bad position to be in. She was his friend, and Margo had come running to him, asking him to share his bed and to make love to her. If it was time Margo needed, he could more than accommodate her request.

  No, it wasn’t a conquest. Malik smiled as he made love to Margo again. Through all the emotions and good feelings, he failed to see the tears that threatened to seep down the sides of Margo’s face.

  43

  Anger and frustration enveloped Santiago like a dark, nasty cloud that announced the onset of a terrible storm. He and his goons had combed the city and come up empty-handed. Angelica was nowhere to be found, and it infuriated Santiago that she had so easily slipped from his clutches.

  Underestimating Angelica’s prowess had caused him to lose time, money, and the energy he had invested to make sure that his vengeance was carried out in the methodical way that he had planned. Aside from the few unexpected glitches, his plan was falling in place. Soon the breaches of trust in his fallen empire that had been dubbed Operation Stingray would be eradicated once and for all.

  Five years was a long time to wait, but now that his new team had been properly organized and trained, it was only a matter of time before he, like King David in the Bible, would kill the giant pain in his ass with one shot from his sling. While it was proving to be more difficult than he expected, one down was not bad.

  Needing to calm his nerves, Santiago went to the wet bar and poured himself a brandy. He swished the drink in the snifter and brought it to his lips. Taking a sip, his mind reflected on the room where Angelica slept. He walked to it, opened the door and surveyed it once again.

  Had she planned on returning or was freedom more important than a few pieces of Louis Vuitton luggage, clothing, and other personal effects? Santiago threw the brandy snifter to the floor, its contents splashing and wetting the carpet. He screamed for Sammy and Dominic, though they could not hear him. Angry that no one responded, he left the room and slammed the door.

  He found his cell phone where he had left it and dialed Dom’s number. “Get ready. You, me, and Sammy are going to take a trip down south.”

  Santiago slammed the phone shut. He knew where to go. The bitch had found out about Hamilton, and she went running. What amazed him was that she found a way to do it. Courage—he had to give it to Angelica. Well, her end was near, and her boyfriend wouldn’t be able to help her because his body was probably decomposing where he and the boys had left hi
m.

  Smiling for the first time, Santiago rushed to the vault where he kept his arsenal of weapons. He’d take two or three assault rifles and a Glock for himself.

  He held the gun in his hand, took off the safety, and pointed at the target he used for practice. Pop. “Bull’s-eye.” A hearty laugh erupted from deep within. Santiago released another shot. “Bull’s-eye. That was for you, Angelica. You’re gonna wish you had never double-crossed me. Ask Donna.”

  Santiago’s laughter was so loud that he didn’t see Sammy and Dominic walk in with puzzlement in their eyes. Turning around at last, he saw them at the entrance to the vault and pointed the gun in their direction.

  “Whoa!” Sammy shouted. “What’s up with you, man?”

  Santiago laughed harder now. He put the gun down and placed the safety back on it. “A little practice, boys. Good for my psyche.”

  Sammy looked at Dom. “Understand, boss,” Sammy replied, the fear finally released from his eyes. “Dom and I are ready to ride.”

  44

  The front door shook like a mild earthquake. The tears that had fallen from Margo’s face hours earlier had long since dried, but anger had replaced them. She pulled the belt from around her trench coat and, after slipping out of it, threw it on the nearest chair.

  “You’re a cheater and a liar!” she said, throwing her pointed finger in Jefferson’s face.

  He held out his hand. “Hold it, Margo. What are you talking about?”

  “I saw you, Jefferson. I saw you with that slut, Angelica. Yes, I followed you to the cozy hotel. I guess you figured if you were out in the open, you would blend in.”