[2016] Twisted Threesome: Dangerous Flame

by PN Books

  "Did I ask you to speak!" She yelled, her eyes red with venomous anger.

  *****

  "So you decided to move here to be an accountant?" Brian asked with a smirk on his face.

  "Yeah so what," Charmaine said. "Why do you say it like that?"

  Brian shrugged his shoulders, smiled, and cut himself a piece of steak. Before answering the question, he slowly chewed the succulent piece of meat, savoring all its wonderful juicy flavors. He licked his lips and took a sip from a glass of red wine. The meat and the wine tickled his brain, fired him up with excitement, sent electric sparks to his groin. He stared across the table at the beautiful mahogany woman whose brown, mysterious eyes enchanted him to no end.

  “It's just that most people I know move to New York to do something exciting,” Brian said, as gently as he could. He didn't want to offend her but he knew that keeping things light and playful would be the best course of action.

  "Well, most of the year it is a pretty dull job, but around tax season, let me tell you, things do get pretty crazy," Charmaine replied.

  "Yeah, I bet," Brian said sarcastically.

  "What do you do? Charmaine asked. I mean, besides working in the gym and all that. It can't be that exciting."

  She wanted to push back against him, sting his masculine ego, make it clear that she wasn't the type of woman to be picked on and poked at.

  "No, I have to admit working at a gym, even an upscale Manhattan gym, is not all that exciting. It doesn't really fire my blood. I have to admit that."

  "So what does fire your blood?" Charmaine asked, intrigued. There might be more layers to this man than she had originally thought.

  Brian took another sip from his glass of wine, a long slow sip. What fired his blood? What got him excited about life, about waking up in the morning, about heading out and facing the world? Those were questions he'd struggled to answer for the past few years. Even before his football career ended, he was having trouble making sense of where his life was going and what the meaning of his life was.

  "I used to be a football player," Brian said, “A linebacker for the Patriots."

  "You mean professional? Charmaine asked, her face and voice full of skepticism.

  "Yes, in the pros," Brian said. "Feels like a long, long time ago."

  "Was it?" Charmaine asked.

  Brian sighed heavily. No, not really," Brian said. "Two years ago it all came to an end. But I probably should have walked away much sooner than that.

  There was a moment silence. Brian's thoughts seemed to drift back into the past, back to his glory days, when he was sure of himself, when he knew who he was, and what he had to do. Without football, he felt completely lost, without direction or aim. He knew that he wouldn't be able to go on living like that much longer.

  Charmaine didn't know what to say. She knew that she had touched upon a sensitive subject, something that meant a great deal to him. She'd expected this to be a fun and lighthearted date, where they each skimmed the surfaces of each other's lives and personalities, refraining from revealing any truly meaningful information. That's how most of her first dates had gone, almost all of them. And that's probably why she was still single.

  They walked out of the restaurant and out into the city's night air. There was a buzz in the streets: that buzz that can only be found on a weekend night in New York City during the scorching summer months.

  Charmaine's head felt light and bubbly. She hadn't stopped giggling for the last 25 minutes. Everything that came out of Brian's mouth, even the most mundane comments, seemed to elicit a chuckle, a giggle, or a batting of the lashes from her. It was hard for her to remember the last time a man had made her feel so girly and giggly. When was the last time a man's company had made her forget about the world, allowing all her cares and worries and insecurities to fall away? Brian allowed her to fully immerse herself in the moment. And that's exactly what she felt she was doing on this date.

  "How do you feel like about a horse and carriage ride?" Brian asked.

  Charmaine brushed a tangle of hair from her face and stared up into Brian's gorgeous blue eyes. My goodness, she thought to herself, those are eyes that I could gaze into for days, eyes that I could fall headlong in love with. There was something so dazzling, alluring, and mysterious about them. She knew that sometimes white men viewed African-American women as being exotic, rare birds, and, therefore, prize catches. For her, he was the rare exotic bird and the prize catch. She would love to show him off to her friends and family. My goodness, she knew she was getting ahead of herself. Way, way ahead of herself.

  "I would love that," she said. "We're gonna have to hail a cab up to Union Circle, though."

  "A cab?" Brian said, with a smirk on his face. "I stopped taking cabs a long time ago. Personal car is definitely the way to go in this city if you have the means."

  He raised his hand in the air and the black car came skidding across the street and stopped right in front of them.

  Charmaine screeched. She pressed her hand to her chest and took several deep breaths. She could feel her heart rate picking up.

  Bryant cocked his head to the side and smiled.

  "You okay?" he said.

  His deep baritone voice made Charmaine's body quiver with pleasure.

  She looked up into his eyes. "I'm okay, "she said. "I'm just a little shaken up that's all."

  Brian wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her tightly to him. She could feel his breath on her neck. She closed her eyes and moaned. She wanted him to take her up and his strong arms, pick her off the ground and cradle her. And she would wrap her arms around his neck and bury her head in his strong, powerful chest. He would be her Viking god; her Nordic savior.

  It was one of the most romantic things for couples to do in the Big Apple: riding together down Broadway, on a warm summer night, snuggled up in the back of a horse and buggy, taking in the sights and smells and sounds of the city together.

  It wasn't the first time that a man had offered to take Charmaine on a horse and buggy ride. Of course not. But all those other times she turned them down. It was one of those things that could either be super romantic or just really corny and forced. With those other guys it always felt forced, like they were trying to hurry up and get intimate, and this was the quickest, most clever way they could think of to impress her and get her to lower her defenses.

  She felt comfortable around Brian. It was their first date and even those moments of awkward silence didn't seem quite that awkward. It was hard for her to believe that this is the first time that they'd spent time together. She usually struggled to make connections with guys but with Brian that was not the case.

  Despite the good vibes she was having on the date, she couldn't help wondering what was on his mind. He seemed so quiet and thoughtful, two things that she valued in a man. But she couldn't help the gnawing feeling, the aching suspicion that maybe, just maybe, he wasn't enjoying himself as much as she was. Maybe he was used to going out with actresses and models and this curvy, black woman, despite all her sex appeal and bad-assness, just couldn't quite measure up.

  She put her hand on top of Brian's and stared up into his face. The hooves of the carriage horse clop-clopped against the concrete. Car horns honked. Loud, raucous voices resounded on the sidewalk. She squeezed Brian's hand.

  "Is everything alright?" She asked.

  Brian slowly turned his head towards her and forced a smile. "I'm sorry," he said. "I'm really sorry. I just got… a lot of stuff on my mind."

  Charmaine kept her eyes locked on Brian's face, scrutinizing each one of his gestures, trying to figure out if he was really being sincere or if this was just a ruse, some complicated, messed up psychological game that he was playing with her—his angle, his only real intention, being to sleep with her. To bed a black woman.

  Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself, she thought. She really had no idea what was bothering him.

  "Is it something in your personal life?" Charmaine aske
d. "I mean… I don't mean to be nosy or anything it just seemed like things were going so well at dinner and then when we stepped outside things changed a little bit."

  "So you're really paying attention to me I guess," Brian said smiling warmly. "Most women just tend to focus on my body and after dinner they just want to rip my clothes off. But I guess you're not like that."

  Charmaine didn't know how to respond to that. She wasn't much different from those other women. She would've loved to rip his clothes off, every single piece of clothing on his body and worship every inch of his pale flesh, nibbling, sucking, licking. Whatever he wanted she would do it. But apparently she would have to keep her lust and desire under control. That was interesting. This date was definitely unlike any other that she'd been on.

  "Of course,” she said. "I felt like you were listening to me when I was talking during dinner. So why shouldn't I do the same for you?"

  "It's a long story," Brian said. "But I'll try to keep it short. The reason my mood changed when we came out here was that riding through the city like this at night, or just in this carriage reminded me of the parade after I won the Super Bowl with the Patriots back in 2009. That was the best year of my pro career and it was also the last year but I was able to play a whole season without any injuries."

  It was obvious to Charmaine that she touched a soft spot, a sensitive area in Brian's life. She began to realize just how important to him football was, and without football, he might never feel whole again. She felt a sense of sadness, but even more than sadness, she felt a connection to him, a deep spiritual connection, one that she wouldn't have expected to find with this blond blue-eyed, football playing hunk.

  "I don't care how long it is," Charmaine said. “It's your story. I would be honored if you shared it with me."

  She squeezed his hand again. Brian raised his eyes and looked at her. There was something so warm, so tender in those looks. They made Charmaine tremble. That contrast of traits: rugged handsomeness, the brute strength, the deep sensitivity, a real capacity for feeling profound emotions. She'd never met a man who combined those traits in such an interesting way. She didn't care how long Brian's story was. She wanted to hear every last word of it.

  "Before I tell you my story," Brian said. "There's probably something else that I should let you know."

  There was a moment of silent tension as Charmaine waited for Brian to continue. For her everything seemed to stop, the whole world came to a silent standstill, as her eyes locked on Brian's lips. She couldn't help wondering how delicious they would taste when pressed against her own. She couldn't help wondering how skillful and passionately he would kiss her, darting his tongue in and out of her mouth, while his strong hands squeezed her breasts and he stared lovingly into her eyes. But what was it that he had to tell her? Another surprise? Something to throw her off her guard?

  "Okay," she said. "But I hope you're not gonna make me wait too long for it."

  "Maybe I shouldn't have made such a big deal out of it," Brian said shaking his head. "You seem a little nervous."

  "No no no no I'm not nervous," Charmaine lied. "But please don't make me wait any longer."

  Ryan wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her tightly to his chest. He ran his hands over her hair several times.

  "It's really nothing," Brian said. "Except, we're outside my condo. I don't mean to be too forward but sometimes when things feel like they just feel right."

  She smiled shyly and nodded her head submissively. This is exactly what she wanted.

  Charmaine and Brian walked into his luxury condo building arm in arm. They smiled and laughed, their bodies filled with joy and sexual tension which threatened to bubble over like champagne. Across the street, behind tinted windows, eyes red with venomous anger, Michelle stared with disdain and contempt at the interracial couple.

  She had to get to the bottom of this, and quickly. Seeing the man she so desired with another woman, let alone a black woman, made her insane with jealousy and rage. She'd never been able to stand black women. She'd always thought of herself as a cut above them: more beautiful, classier, more educated. She would never have imagined that a man would choose one of them over her. She wasn't the type of woman to sit around and wait for things to change. She wasn't the kind of woman to patiently accept what fate dished out to her. Hell no! She would find out who that woman was, and when she did she would be sure to bring her down.

  *****

  When Charmaine woke up the next morning in Brian's apartment, she was surprised to find that the other side of the bed was empty. She could hear sounds and smells—bacon eggs, and coffee—coming from the kitchen. She smiled and sat up in the bed.

  Wow! She thought, what a night. It had been such a long time since a man had given her that sort of work out. Incredible. Absolutely incredible. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back on the pillow as the memories of the evening before played over and over again in her mind.

  There was something so masterful, so skillful, so gentle, but also so rough and brutish, about the way he made love to her. And that's what it felt like, as crazy as it may have seemed. Love. It felt like love. There was that mix of tenderness and brutality, sweetness and cruelty, that Charmaine had always found so irresistible. He was her warrior poet. She stretched her arms high above her head and yawned. She smiled as she heard footsteps coming up the stairs, then turning down the hallway to the bedroom.

  She couldn't wait to see Brian, even though she was a bit worried about what he would think of her morning-after appearance her weave wasn't on, and she had on no makeup. But that didn't matter much. She'd always been a natural beauty. That's what everyone in her life had always told her.

  The footsteps came closer, Charmaine could feel an electric, sexual energy surging throughout her body. After she brushed her teeth, a little bit of morning sex would be just the thing to get her body and her mind going.

  The sound of the footsteps was only a few feet away. The smell of the food was stronger than ever. Charmaine closed her eyes, smile deeply with satisfaction. When she opened her eyes she nearly jumped out of the bed in fright.

  "AHHHHHH," she screeched, pulling the covers up to her neck.

  Her eyes were wide open in fright, staring at a brunette who had on a French maid's outfit. The woman, probably in her mid-30s, was holding a tray filled with food, staring calmly at Charmaine with a self-assured smile.

  "I'm sorry to scare you," the woman said. "Brian had to leave early this morning to the gym. He gave me very specific instructions to prepare breakfast for you and to serve you while you're in bed."

  Charmaine had no idea what to say. Her mouth had gone dry. Her tongue was stuck to the roof of her mouth. Who hell was this woman? Why had Brian left his apartment with a complete stranger? That didn't make any sense. The night before he hadn't mentioned anything about having to leave early for work or having his personal whatever she was, maid or chef, prepare a meal. Why would somebody do something like that?

  "My name is Michelle," the woman said. "Is it okay if I leave the food on this table over here?"

  Charmaine had yet to utter a word to the strange woman. There was something about her that didn't quite fit with the role that she said she was playing. Charmaine had yet to encounter a chef or a live-in maid who looked anything like this woman. Most of them were poor, most of them were dark, most of them were Latina. There was something oddly sophisticated and aristocratic about this white woman.

  What a strange situation she found herself in. The first time she'd slept with a white man, she had explosive, mind blowing, orgasmic, unforgettable, life altering sex, and the next morning a white woman serves her breakfast in bed? No, something about this didn't seem right at all. She trembled with fear as the woman put the tray down the bedside table.

  "If you need anything, I'll be downstairs," the woman said before closing the door behind her.

  Charmaine looked at the food. It looked delicious. It smelled delicious. But sudde
nly, after staring into that woman's strange, twisted eyes, she lost her appetite.

  Charmaine was more scared than ever. She didn't know what to do next. Why would Brian leave her in this kind of situation? For a moment, she felt like she was in some kind of weird horror movie. She could feel her heart racing, sweat breaking out on her forehead, her hands trembling with fear. She knew that she couldn't stay in the bed, in that room, for much longer, without going absolutely crazy.

  She took several deep breaths and finally got out of bed. She crept towards the door. Thankfully the room was carpeted, so she didn't make any noise. She needed to know what was going on in the rest of the house. She wasn't sure whether or not it would be best to leave the room or to just crack the door and listen, but she had to do something. Being passive, waiting for the gauntlet to fall on her neck, was absolutely not an option.

  She got to the door, put her hand on the knob, and slowly turned it. She cracked the door open ever so slightly, then poked her head out. There was a long hallway running to both the left and the right. Sounds of pots and pans clanging against each other in the kitchen nearly made Charmaine jump out of her skin.

  Never in her life had she experienced anything remotely close to this. As she was leaning her head out the door, listening anxiously, nervously, for any sound of Brian, or any sound of help, she heard what she thought was the front door opening and slamming shut.

  At that moment, the clattering of the pots and pans in the kitchen ceased. A scary silence reigned in the house. What was going on?

  Seconds later she heard a loud male voice booming from down the hallway.

  "What the hell are you doing here?" It was Brian's voice.

  Charmaine heard the woman's voice, pleading with Brian to forgive her. The woman said that she'd made a mistake. She wanted them to be together, they were meant to be together, who was that black woman? He needed to get rid of her. She was the only woman for him. All this, and a bunch of other crazy ramblings spewed out of her mouth. When she was done pleading, yelling, and crying, it was Brian's turn to reply.