“Fuck this. Why am I trying to do the right thing?” Fancy was probably riding that dude right this minute so why should Darius stand here beating his meat while Desmond was doing Fancy? Grabbing a towel, Darius wrapped his waist then walked to front door. They could rape him tonight if they wanted, he didn’t care.
Centering his eye over the peephole, Darius froze. Uncontrollably, tears flowed. Without saying a word, Darius opened the door, stretched out his arms, and welcomed Fancy into his heart. Into his home. And this time, without hesitation, into his bedroom.
Trailing him, Fancy offered, “Darius, I can explain about Dez.”
“Ssshh. You don’t have to explain anything, Ladycat. All I need to know is that you love me and you want to be with me and me only.”
Ladycat’s lips kissed his eyelids, his cheeks, his chin, and then his lips. Cupping his mouth, her tongue gently pried apart his lips. Switching places, Darius stretched his lips wide then covered Fancy’s mouth. Fancy held his face in her palms. Eyes to eyes with her, tears streamed down his cheeks. “I do love you, baby.”
Darius picked up Fancy, carrying her to the Jacuzzi.
“Darius, wait! I still have my clothes on!” Fancy said, kicking off her shoes. One stiletto plopped in the Jacuzzi.
“Not for long, Ladycat.”
Sitting Fancy in the tub, Darius’s hands gripped Fancy’s silver turtleneck sweater at the top and ripped it down the middle. Eagerly he palmed then kissed her sudsy breasts while patiently untying her suede pants underwater. Darius slid Fancy’s pants halfway down her thighs to her knees, then leaned Fancy over the side platform of the Jacuzzi. Holding his dick in his hand, Darius circled Fancy’s pussy under the water then slid the head up and down over her vagina.
Thrusting his dick one-third of the way inside her hot pulsating walls, Darius stroked again and the third time he hit deep inside Fancy’s pussy pocket. Darius felt the dimples on the side of his ass deepen with every stroke. Darius fucked Fancy so hard, water splashed on her back, in their hair, and on the floor.
“Don’t you ever give my pussy away to nobody. You hear me? Nobody,” Darius commanded. When Fancy didn’t answer, Darius said, “Come over here,” positioning Fancy’s clit in front of the jet stream. He stroked faster and harder; while the water massaged Fancy’s pussy on the outside, Darius rode the inside.
Ladycat screamed, “Daaaaaaaammmmmnnnnnnn! Yeeeeessssssss!” repeatedly. “Baby, please, I can’t take any more.”
Partially blocking the force of the jet stream, Darius rotated his finger on her clit under the water in front of the jet but refused to pull his dick out. Darius fucked Fancy harder. Turning his face to the side, simultaneously guiding Fancy’s face, he tongue-kissed Fancy passionately, searching her mouth with his tongue.
The cum in his balls gained force and shot in waves through his shaft, exploding from his head inside Fancy’s pussy pocket. The purse that Darius knew would shelter and secure his sperm for at least three days. Darius didn’t care if one penetrated one of Fancy’s eggs. In fact, Darius wished that Fancy would develop his seed inside her womb. Maybe she’d stop working. And definitely she’d marry him.
Darius eased his woman out of the Jacuzzi, toweled her off, and then lay her across the bed and smothered her clit with kisses, generating small orgasms that tasted like vanilla. Darius sucked Fancy’s shaft from clit to base until Fancy showered him with the sweetest cream he’d ever swallowed. Softer and softer, Darius suctioned until Fancy was drained.
Darius whispered, “Baby, I love you.”
Ladycat mumbled, “Um-hum. Me, too.” The heavyweight of her hands rested on his locks where only moments ago she was pushing his lips against hers.
Quietly Darius lay his head on Ladycat’s pubic hairs and snuggled into her crotch, inhaling her intoxicating aroma. Fancy must’ve sprinkled her pussy with some magical potion that made Darius want to eat her every time they made love. Wrapping his arms underneath her buttocks, Ladycat’s pussy became his pillow and her strength became his new foundation for life. With Fancy by his side, there was no obstacle Darius couldn’t overcome.
CHAPTER 27
Being with Desmond one more time was necessary for Fancy to see if his name was the name, beginning with D, of the person she was supposed to marry. After asking Desmond to fly to Oakland, and spending several days, all day, twenty-four hours a day with him, Fancy was positive that Desmond was not the one. Now Fancy no longer had to say, “I love Desmond. I think.” Was it true that women matured faster than men? Had she outgrown Desmond? Well, Fancy definitely learned that being with Desmond for an extended period of time revealed certain things she hadn’t known.
The saying “You don’t know a person until you live with them” was a reality for Fancy and Desmond. After the first night at her penthouse, Desmond stopped picking up behind himself. Wet bath towels remained on her marble bathroom floor, jeans and T-shirts draped her vanity stool, and the unfolded newspaper decorated her living room coffee table until she recycled it daily. Desmond expected Fancy to figure out what was on the menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner when her biggest and sometimes only meal of the day was breakfast. And money had become another problem. The lifestyle Fancy was accustomed to, Desmond couldn’t accommodate, saying, “I’m a full-time college student now. Until I start practicing law, I’ma be broke.” The Desmond Fancy knew would spend his last dollar to make her happy. But thankfully Desmond was only with her for one more day, so as with all the other days, Fancy would pay their expenses.
The real Desmond Brown had finally surfaced and Fancy didn’t like him very much. Now that Fancy thought about their past, Desmond was pretending all along, trying to impress her. Desmond could’ve saved his money, her time, his time, and her money if he had been himself. Maybe Trina had spoiled Desmond, but there was no way Fancy would handicap any man by catering to his every need. If Desmond wasn’t sleeping he was shadowing her every move. Fancy tried getting Desmond to stay a day or two with his best friend Tyronne while she showed houses and closed escrows, but Desmond claimed seeing how successful she’d become, he was thinking about becoming a real estate attorney.
Yesterday, Desmond had driven her Benz from Oakland to Los Angeles. Today, Fancy regretted that she had to take a six-hour drive back to Oakland trapped in a car with a man she wasn’t in love with, who clearly still loved her. Or was it her looks that Desmond loved? Suddenly Fancy realized that appreciation, respect, dependability, and friendship were the qualities she still admired in Desmond. And love. In a sisterly way. A motherly way. Not the way a wife should love her husband. Seriously, Desmond was too clingy. Fancy wanted an independent man, like Darius.
Fancy loved Darius so much that she couldn’t take her clothes off in front of Desmond when they had checked into the Ritz last night after Darius’s game. Following her around the suite half the night, Desmond wanted Fancy badly. Groping. Grabbing. Himself, not her. Desmond’s dick stayed hard. Obviously Desmond had something to prove, but not to her. The more Desmond tried, the more annoyed Fancy had become, and the more she longed to be in Darius’s arms. Fed up, and before she flashed on Desmond, cursing him out, Fancy had gathered her purse, slipped on her shoes, and said, “I’ll be back.”
“Where are you going this time of night?” Desmond had asked, lying naked in bed with his heads leaning forward.
Fancy could’ve told him the truth and prayed Desmond would’ve been gone by the time she returned. Instead, she rolled her eyes to the top of head and then quietly closed the hotel door. Was she required to be hospitable under miserable circumstances?
Although Darius had declined her explanation after his game, Fancy hadn’t taken Desmond to Darius’s game to make Darius upset. What she wanted was for Desmond to see how talented Darius was. But all Desmond had done was laugh at Darius all night long, well after the game was over, agitating her more. Darius always played the role of having everything together, under control. During the game and last night, Fancy saw the Dar
ius she’d waited to see. The little boy inside the man that yearned to be loved. By her.
Not trying, Fancy had pissed both of them off so when Desmond refused to leave her alone, Fancy took a chance and drove to Darius’s house unannounced. If Darius would’ve had more groupies, then Fancy would’ve ended their friendship. For real that time. Spending the night at Darius’s was wonderful for Fancy and horrible for Desmond.
Earlier this morning when Fancy returned to the Ritz from Darius’s house, she valet-parked, then energetically, full of life, happily skipped inside the door wearing one of Darius’s dress shirts tied above her waist. Desmond was sitting in the lobby with his luggage.
Desmond raced toward Fancy and authoritatively questioned, “Where’ve you been all night? Whose clothes are you wearing? And your hair is all flat.”
Smiling, Fancy replied, “Why? Does it matter?”
With his lips twisted sideways, Desmond said, “Yeah, as a matter of fact it does.”
Fancy continued smiling. “I had some unfinished business to attend to.” If she wouldn’t have blatantly pissed Desmond off, Fancy would’ve skipped all the way to their suite.
Moving closer to her, Desmond’s voice angrily escalated. “So you abandoned me again? I could’ve stayed in Atlanta with Trina.”
True. Glancing to see who was within ear range of their senseless and embarrassing conversation, Fancy noticed a well-known celebrity talking to an undercover security agent. Probably his bodyguard.
“Excuse me, Dez. I have to say hello to a potential client.” According to Mr. Riddle, everyone was a potential client.
Following Fancy’s stare, Desmond said, “Damn, that’s Jamie! I have to say hello too!”
Fancy placed her hand on Desmond’s chest. “Stay here, Dez. I’ll be right back.”
“That’s what you said last night and you showed up twelve hours later. I’m going everywhere you go,” Desmond insisted, dragging his luggage.
Retrieving a business card from her purse, Fancy handed it to Jamie. “Excuse me, Mr. Foxx. I’m Fancy Taylor, your realtor of choice. You were fantastic in the movie Ray. I’ve watched the movie at least twelve times. My favorite line was, ‘You don’t know how it feels to be blind and still be afraid of the dark.’ Oh, that and, ‘I’ma make it do what it do, baby.’” Flirting, Fancy winked at Jamie then smiled.
“Thanks,” Jamie said, smoothly easing her card into his jacket pocket.
Desmond chimed in, “I’m your biggest fan, Mr. Foxx,” emphatically shaking Jamie’s hand. “My mama told me she saw you at the Oakland Paramount Theatre when you won the Bay Area Black Comedy Competition imitating handicapped people. Oh, that and you played the piano and everything. She said at the after-party you were standing alone and people were barely talking to you.” Desmond looked at Fancy, then concluded, “One of these days I’m going to know what it’s like from the people who ignore me now, man, to be all over me once I’m rich like you.”
There Desmond went again, fantasizing about his unearned income. First Johnnie Cochran, now Jamie. Fancy shook Jamie’s hand and said, “Nice meeting you,” then walked away.
“Man, I gotta go with my girl. Be blessed. And I’ll tell my mama you said hello,” Desmond said.
How could Fancy have liked Desmond who annoyed the hell out of her? “Wait here in the lobby, Dez, until I get my bag from the room.” Fancy figured if she slept in the car, the time would pass faster.
While Fancy was packing her bag, her cell phone rang.
“Hi, Mr. Baines. How are you?” Michael Baines had become Fancy’s number one client.
“Call me Michael, please. Where are you?”
“In Los Angeles. Getting ready to drive back to Oakland.”
“No, stay in L.A. My plane just landed. Can you pick me up?”
How could Fancy say no to a man who single-handedly grossed her over a million dollars on one deal? “Sure. I’m on my way.”
Leaving her bag in the room, Fancy went downstairs and stood next to Desmond.
Looking up from the newspaper, Desmond asked, “Where’s your bag? I’m ready to go.”
“I’m not leaving. I’ve bought you a one-way ticket to Oakland and I’ve arranged for a driver to pick you up at the Oakland airport. Your full name will be on a piece of paper he or she will be holding. And they’ll take you to the downtown Marriott. I’ve made a reservation for you, and in the morning the same driver will take you back to the Oakland airport. All you have to do is—”
“You are not abandoning me again! I came with you. I’m leaving with you.”
“Desmond, please. I don’t have time to debate this. My top client—one who wants to buy property in Los Angeles—is at the airport, and since I’m here I can make this deal.”
“Whatever. I should’ve never taken you to that real estate office.”
“Let’s go,” Fancy said, feeling more in control like a man than woman. Fancy could easily get accustomed to being in charge.
Dropping Desmond off upstairs at departures, Fancy zipped downstairs to arrivals and picked up Michael.
Opening the passenger door for Fancy, Michael said, “I’ll drive.”
Settling into their seats, Michael leaned from the driver’s seat. His arms wrapped tightly around Fancy’s shoulders. “Good to see you.” When Fancy turned her head, the wetness of his lips pressed against her cheek, fractions of an inch away from her mouth.
Whew. Quietly, Fancy exhaled, wondering but unwilling to question what Michael’s intentions were.
“I have several properties to see today. One I’m going to buy for personal use. You can have this seven-figure deal, too,” Michael said, looking at her, “if you’ll be my lady.”
Speechless. Fancy didn’t know what to say without blowing the transaction. “Well, let’s see the house.”
When Michael drove to the house adjacent to Darius’s, Fancy’s heart tried to beat out of her chest. Darius’s car was parked in the driveway next to his mother’s.
“I have the keys,” Michael said, parking Fancy’s Benz on the street with her tags facing Darius’s house. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Fancy lied, getting out the car.
“This is not the house I’m buying. This is another one of my houses.”
“Then why’d you park my car on the street? Let’s park in the garage.”
“Oil stains decrease your property value. You know that. Besides, we’re not going to be here long. I just needed to drop off my bag and take a shower. That’s all.”
Michael’s living room was beautiful and the only room Fancy wanted to see. Spacious. Everything was white accented in gold. Carpet, walls, mantle, fireplace, statues, picture frames. “I’ll wait here,” Fancy said, sitting in a high-backed cushioned chair like Mandy’s. Looking at Michael’s furniture, Fancy recalled calling Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco, welcoming them to everything in her old condo except her files. If she didn’t have to file taxes, they could’ve taken the cabinets, too.
“Make yourself comfortable. I’ll be right back.”
When Michael disappeared, Fancy raced over to the window and peeped outside. Jada was frowning, pointing at Fancy’s license plates. Darius frowned, too, then mouthed, “This is bullshit!” When they looked at Michael’s window, Fancy ducked, closing the curtains. Fancy’s new objective was to get out of Michael’s house immediately. Fancy went to the living room to retrieve her purse and car keys.
Almost stumbling over Michael’s feet, Fancy said, “Oh my gosh. You scared me. I thought you were in the shower.”
Michael was now seated on the sofa dressed in a silk robe. An ice bucket chilling a bottle of champagne was on a nearby stand. “We never celebrated the closing on the San Francisco waterfront property. Let’s have a toast to continuous prosperity.”
Unlike Harry Washington, Michael was a man who could destroy her reputation with one phone call. Plus, she didn’t want to risk losing a lucrative deal. If Darius truly loved her tod
ay, he’d still love her tomorrow. Fancy sat on the sofa next to Michael, drank several glasses of champagne, and then fell asleep. When she awakened in the middle of the night, naked in Michael’s bed, Fancy knew she’d fucked up. The question was, how much?
CHAPTER 28
Life. Subject to change without notice.
Different day, same husband. Jada opened her hazel eyes staring into a space filled with years of wonderful memories and recently lonely moments. The horizontal position, lying on her back, was the same when she’d retired to bed as when she’d awakened this morning. She’d become a corpse in a coffin. Darius had lain across the foot of her bed last night but he was gone when she woke up.
If anyone would’ve told her she would divorced Wellington, Jada would’ve smiled and said, “Until death do we part, Wellington will always be my husband. Wellington is my soul mate.”
Someone should’ve told her that “until death do we part” was a parable referencing the heart, not life. If one person stopped caring for the other, both were decomposing. Jada’s feelings for her husband hadn’t changed. But could her spark ignite a burning flame to save her marriage?
Wellington’s hearty laughter resonated in her mind with fond thoughts as she continued gazing into the emptiness of their bedroom. How could he pretend their relationship was good after he’d had an affair? For years. How could she have not noticed his change? Probably because to her, her husband was the same. Handsome. Fun. Loving. Kind. Polite. Strong. Successful. And while Jada didn’t like Wellington very much, she loved him.
Jada was a few hours away from sitting face-to-face with Wellington. Hopefully she’d be civil. Whenever their divorce was finalized, she’d buy a home from Fancy. Selling Fancy her Oakland penthouse below market price was not intended to irritate Darius, although it had. Jada wanted to do something nice for Fancy for many reasons. Mainly because there was no way Jada could repay Fancy for saving Darius’s life on many levels. Fancy had stood by Darius in his darkest times.
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