by Desiree Holt, Lisabet Sarai, Lily Harlem, Elizabeth Coldwell, Wendi Zwaduk, Imari Jade
Fading light from the street filtered in through gaps in the curtains. Aside from a pool of brightness at the bar, where Lori was setting up, the club was dim, but there was movement up on the stage, and then, music…
“You said you was hurting,
Almost lost your mind,
And the man you love,
He hurts you all the time,
When things go wrong,
Go wrong with you,
It hurts me too.”
Zeke sang the first four lines solo, but a second voice joined in on the refrain, a familiar tenor that made Ruby’s heart sink and her nipples tighten. She stumbled, knocking a stool against the wall and drawing the attention of the men at the front of the club.
“Ruby! Look who showed up!” Zeke switched on the spot above the stage. Perched on the chair next to him, cradling an American Deluxe Strat, was Remy. “He says you invited him to play.”
“Good evening, Ms Jones.” Remy skewered her with that intense gaze, peering across the room as though he’d read her mind. At the same time, his smile looked almost apologetic. “You didn’t say when I could start. I figured today was as good a day as any.”
Ruby wanted to drop through the earth. Zeke was watching, though, a broad grin curving under his moustache. She swallowed her panic and strode forward, offering her hand. Grace under fire, her papa had told her. That was what counted, when things got tough.
“Mr Saint-Michel.” Her skin tingled when their palms locked. He did not prolong the gesture, but she felt the ghost of his touch when he released her. “Welcome to Crossroads.”
“Call me Remy.”
Ruby nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Zeke stepped into the gap.
“We’ve been goin’ over some arrangements. Remy’s gonna play with the Travellers for a while, to get the feel of things. I think you should give him solo billing soon, though. He’s a natural.”
“You told me you hadn’t performed before,” Ruby said out loud. What are you doing here? she asked silently. I told you to stay away.
“Not professionally. I had a restaurant, though, back in New Orleans. I used to entertain my customers.” I couldn’t, his eyes answered. I need you.
“I can’t afford to pay you anything.”
“I understand. I don’t need the cash.” She struggled to retain her composure as she recalled his luxurious vehicle—and the scene that had unfolded inside. “I sing for the love of it. The blues seems to be the only thing that makes me whole.”
“I know what you mean, man.” Zeke clapped Remy on the back, clearly charmed by the newcomer. “When everything goes to shit, you’ve still got blues to lift you up. It’s a strange kind of magic, how singin’ about trouble and sorrow can bring you so much joy.”
Ruby tried to summon some anger at Remy for intruding into her life. The only emotion she felt, though, was desire. She looked from one of her lovers to the other, as they chattered on about chords, tempo, New Orleans versus Delta styles. So different, but both so appealing… She wanted them both. But she’d sworn to herself that she’d quit sex for a while. She planned to keep that vow, no matter how difficult that turned out to be. She just hadn’t expected to be tempted so quickly.
“I’ll leave you two to work. Let’s start the first set at eight, okay?” Ruby had to get out of their presence before the pussy juice started running down her thighs. “I’m going to open up, then grab a bite before the rush.”
After unlocking the door to the club, she dragged the “Happy Hour” sign out to the sidewalk. A crisp breeze stirred her curls, but the air she drew into her lungs hinted at the softness of spring.
The impending twilight held a strange peace. She could hear blaring horns and rumbling trucks over on Eighth Avenue, but they seemed a million miles away. Most of the traffic on Fourteenth was on foot. A passer-by bid her good evening. She returned the greeting with a smile. Gradually her heart slowed and the blaze in her sex subsided to a background glow.
She could do this. She could keep control. The club was more important than her personal satisfaction.
Chapter Six
The rest of the night sorely tested her resolve. She tried to stay in the background, giving Lori a hand, letting Zeke and Remy wow the crowd. She couldn’t keep her eyes off them. The added voice and guitar gave Zeke’s band a richer, more complex sound. The two men alternated on solos—Zeke’s raw and energetic, Remy’s slower and more mournful, both spectacular. You couldn’t tell that Remy was new. He and Zeke read each other’s cues, picked up each other’s riffs, as though they’d been playing together for years.
At one point, she headed down to the basement to bring up some more beer. She sat on a pile of cartons, her eyes shut, savouring the quiet and the solitude. The scuff of a sole on the stairs interrupted her meditation.
“Ruby?” Remy cupped her chin and raised her eyes to his. The banked embers of her lust burst into flame.
“What are you doing here?” She twisted away from him, into a corner, fighting the attraction. “You’re supposed to be upstairs playing.”
“We’re on break. I was looking for you.” Before she could stop him, he pulled her into a fierce embrace, taking possession of her mouth. His tart scent filled her nostrils. Blood rushed to her clit. As though he knew, he pressed his lean thigh into the gap between hers, kindling a blaze of pleasure. Meanwhile, his hands slipped under her jersey and roamed across her bare back, seeking the clasp to her bra.
She rocked against him, the sweet hardness of his thigh making her pussy swell and weep. More hardness lodged against her belly. She let her hand fall from his shoulders to trace the curve of his erection. She burned to feel him inside her once more. One thumb grazed the side of her breast, that delicate spot under her arm. With his other hand, he raised her skirt and groped for the elastic of her panties.
The first exquisite brush of his fingers across her damp bush reminded her of her vow.
“No, Remy!” Pushing him away might have been the most difficult thing she’d ever done. She steeled herself to ignore the hurt in his eyes.
“But…you want me. You’re soaked. There’s plenty of time. We don’t go back on for another fifteen minutes…”
“No.” Ruby reached behind her back to refasten her bra. “Please, no. No more sex, not now at least.”
“Then when? Just tell me, chere, and I’ll be there.”
“I don’t know.” She smoothed down her skirt. Deliberately turning her back on him, she lifted a case of beer from stacks against the wall. “Here. Make yourself useful.”
“What’s wrong, Ruby?” Remy’s eyes narrowed. “Is it Zeke? He’s your lover, right?”
“No—yes… I mean, we’re lovers, have been for years, but that’s not the reason I can’t make love to you. Zeke and I haven’t made any promises. But I need time to figure out what’s best for me, what I really need. Not just what I want. I have responsibilities, Remy. I have a dream…”
“I’ll help make your dreams come true…” He stood before her, misery etched in every line of his face. She knew he would have grabbed her again if he had not been holding the beer. Ruby’s chest ached.
“I’m sorry, baby. You can help by not trying to tempt me. Just be patient. I have to do things my own way.”
Remy didn’t approach her again. He disappeared after the last set without saying goodbye. Zeke, however, came up behind her as she was locking the liquor cabinets for the night, capturing her in his burly arms.
“Ready for bed, darlin’?” He nuzzled her neck, warm and wet, familiar and soothing. Ruby leant back, letting herself relax into his strength. Encouraged, he hefted her breasts and flicked his thumbs across her nipples, sending sparks skittering through her. “I’m feelin’ really good tonight, but I know you can make me feel even better.”
His hands moulded her form, across her ribs and down her belly, kneading her ample hips and ass before reaching around again to cup her pubis through her skirt. Meanwhile he rubbed his rigid
cock back and forth in the cleft between her rear cheeks. “Feel what I’ve got for you? I’ve been craving you all evenin’.”
She forced herself to turn away from that delicious pressure to face him. “Not tonight, Zeke. I’m exhausted.” She kissed his cheek. “I don’t think my body can handle any more sex right now.”
“We can just cuddle, if you like. You don’t need to worry about Isaiah—he saw me upstairs this morning and didn’t bat an eyelash.” Ruby shook her head, handing him his jacket. He looked stricken. “Please, darlin’…”
“It’s not Isaiah. It’s me. I need some time by myself, Zeke. If you love me like you say, you’ll let me be.”
Anger clouded Zeke’s sky-blue eyes. “This is about the other guy, isn’t it? Your ‘date’. You’re fucking him, so you don’t want me anymore.”
“No, no, baby, that’s not it. I swear I do want you. You don’t know how much. I’d like nothing more than to invite you upstairs and tumble into bed with you.”
“Then why don’t you do it?” Confusion replaced irritation. “I don’t get it.”
“It’s hard to explain, but please, Zeke, give me a bit of space. You’re my friend as well as my lover. Help me.”
“All right. You know I’d do anything for you. But if you change your mind…”
Ruby laughed and gave him a closed-mouth kiss before hustling him out the door. “You’ll be the first to know, baby.”
Ruby locked the club and trudged up to her apartment. I did it, she thought. I did the right thing. She should have been proud. Instead, she felt lost, alone and desperately horny.
* * * *
The week rolled on. Word got out about the Traveller’s new line up, and the club was packed every night. On Thursday, Remy did a solo set. The crowd went wild. Ruby started thinking about hiring a waitress to relieve some of Lori’s load.
Both Remy and Zeke honoured her request and kept their distance. Sometimes she’d catch Zeke eyeing her hungrily or feel Remy’s razor-sharp stare stripping her naked, but neither tried to seduce her. As she lay in her empty bed, the evening’s music ringing in her ears, she almost wished otherwise. Her body screamed for a touch other than her own.
Friday morning Ruby awoke with the dawn, energised and optimistic. She fixed biscuits and gravy for breakfast, smiling as Isaiah wolfed his down and asked for a second serving.
“Mama—can I stay over at Skip’s tonight? We’re going to be rehearsing from after school till late.” Isaiah was still bubbling with excitement over his Saturday gig.
“I don’t want you up till all hours…”
“We’ll be in bed by eleven. I promise… Please? Pretty please?”
“Okay, okay! Just leave your phone on in case I need to reach you.”
“Sure. You’re the best mom in the world.”
Hardly the best, when you manage to have breakfast with your son only once or twice a week.
Oh shut up, she told the nagging voice as she cleared the table. Still in her robe, she descended to her office. She extracted the eviction notice from her to-do pile. Today seemed like as good a day as any to tackle the issue. She dialled the number on the letterhead and made an eleven o’clock appointment with Henry Fletcher, Esquire. Mama had always told her to confront problems head-on. Her spirits soaring, she went upstairs to don her best suit, stockings and heels.
* * * *
“I’m very sorry, Ms Jones, but as I indicated previously, my client wishes to remain anonymous. He gave us very clear instructions.”
Ruby shifted in the uncomfortable wooden chair. Henry Fletcher’s pale, narrow face wore a polite mask, but she heard the hint of scorn in his words. She glanced around the office at the Ivy League diplomas on the dark panelled walls, ranks of ponderous legal tomes, Fletcher’s massive desk—all designed to intimidate. She refused to be cowed. “How can I negotiate with my new landlord,” she said, keeping every trace of her frustration out of her voice, “if I don’t know who he is?”
“The new owner of the premises does not wish to negotiate.”
“Then what can I do?” Don’t let him hear how desperate you are.
Fletcher’s nostrils flared, as though he’d caught a whiff of some disagreeable odour. “Simply vacate the premises as requested, Ms Jones. That will be the simplest thing for everyone.”
Not for me, she wanted to shout. She pressed her lips together to stop herself as Fletcher’s perfectly coifed blonde secretary led her to the door.
She took a cab home. Her earlier energy had fled. She couldn’t face the notion of dealing with the subway. The traffic on Fifth Avenue was hellish. It was past one by the time she stepped into the cool, beer-scented dimness of the Crossroads.
Ruby sat at the bar for a moment, gazing at the stage. She could picture them up there, singing their hearts out. Remy and Zeke. Had she made a mistake, pushing them away? But she couldn’t handle them both. It was just too complicated. And how could she give one of them up? Would they still be part of her world if she had to give up the club? What would happen to them all?
Tears gathered in her eyes as she started up the stairs. She noticed in passing that the door to her office was ajar. She pushed it open and took a step inside.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Zeke sat at her desk. He waved a sheet of paper in her face. She recognised the fancy stationery. “Damn it, Ruby, I’m your friend. When you’re in trouble, I wanna know!” His normally fair complexion flushed beet red. His brows drew together in a furious scowl and his eyes were blue steel.
“I—I didn’t want to bother you,” Ruby stammered. “It—um. Well, it’s my problem. I figured I’d deal with it.”
“Your problems are my problems.” He rose to tower over her. “When are you going to understand?” For a moment she thought he was going to take her in his arms. She held her breath, watching the struggle on his face. Please, she begged silently. She desperately needed the comfort she knew he could provide.
But he turned away, sinking back into her chair, burying his face in his hands. After a moment, he looked up. His anger had fled. In its place she saw pain and resignation.
“This isn’t working, Ruby. I think it’s time for me to get out of here. I can’t get through to you. Sure, you’ll give me your body—though lately not even that—but you won’t allow me into your heart. I’m heading back to Mississippi. New York’s just too cold for me.”
“Zeke—no—please…” Ruby grabbed his arm. Life without Zeke… The idea was too bleak to consider. She’d tried not to depend on him, but now she couldn’t imagine what she’d do without him.
“Don’t go! Please! I’m sorry I’m so prickly. It’s just that—after Otis… Well, I swore that I’d make it on my own, without any man to prop me up. After taking care of myself for so long, it’s hard for me to let go. But I love you, baby, honestly I do. And if you stay, I promise to show you.”
She pulled Zeke out of the chair and into her arms, holding on for dear life. At first he held back, but after a moment he returned the hug. His warm, masculine scent surrounded her, flooding her with carnal memories. Her nipples sprang to life. Heat flooded her cunt.
He nibbled her ear and palmed her breasts through her best silk blouse. “God, I’ve missed you, darlin’. I’ve rubbed myself raw, thinkin’ of you…”
“Let’s go upstairs.” Ruby reached down to stroke his growing erection. “We’ve got the place to ourselves…”
As though to contradict her, someone rang the bell on the street level. “What the hell?”
Zeke rumbled, licking his way down her throat. “Just ignore it.”
“Ah—um… It could be Isaiah. He’s supposed to be at a friend’s this afternoon but…he might have forgotten his keys…” Reluctantly, Zeke released her so she could check the security camera.
Ruby gasped. The lean, leather-clad figure outside rang again.
“What’s he doing here?” It was impossible to miss the suspicion in Zeke’s voice.
“I don’t
know…” She pressed the button to release the lock. Remy bounded up the stairs and burst into the office.
“I’ve got to talk to you, Ruby!” He seized her hand. As usual, his touch made her burn. “There’s something you need to understand. I’m so sorry, I should have told you…” He stopped, sniffed, and sucked air into his lungs, as if inhaling her essence. “Oh, chere, I’ve missed you so these last few days…” Before she could protest, Remy engulfed her, his mouth cemented to hers in a kiss that left her weak and breathless.
“Uh—hum.” Zeke’s voice shattered the lascivious trance induced by Remy’s presence. “So I was right after all.” He stood up, favouring them with a half-smile. “If you’ll just let me past, I’ll excuse myself so you two can be alone.”
Ruby released her hold on Remy so she could block Zeke’s path. “Wait! Zeke, please! I don’t want you to leave, baby. I love you.”
Remy whirled her around to face him. “What about me, chere? Should I go, then? I was under the impression that you wanted me, but perhaps I was wrong.” Fury blazed in his dark eyes, but Ruby saw that was only a mask. Underneath lurked an ocean of sorrow, threatening to drown him.
“No, no—I do want you. Oh God, Remy! I think I love you, too.”
“You can’t love both of us, darlin’. Be reasonable. You’ve got to choose.” Zeke shrugged. “He’s younger than I am, handsomer, a lot richer. Hell, he’s even a better musician. Take him. I’ll understand.”
“Don’t be silly. You’re the one who’s loved and supported her, who’s helped her build her dream. I’m basically a stranger. Ruby, chere, I don’t know if I can live without you, but Zeke’s your true love. It’ll break my heart, but I’ll go. Choose him. It’s only right.”
Ruby looked from one of her lovers to the other, as each pleaded the other’s case. They were both so dear…
All at once the solution was crystal clear. “Who are you, telling me to choose? Why do I have to choose? Why can’t I have you both? That is, if you’re game…”
“You can’t mean…” A blush painted Zeke’s cheeks.