Something to Talk About

by Melanie Woods Schuster

  “If Preston wasn’t so caring and supportive, I don’t think I could make it through this program. And this is just the first year,” she said with a playful shudder. “I’m so glad he’s willing to wait until sifter I graduate to get married,” she added, once again inspecting the big diamond ring on her left hand.

  Adam held the door open for her without comment, maintaining his thoughtful silence up the flight of stairs to Alicia’s front door. He held her books while she fished her key out of her pocket, and they looked at each other strangely when the door opened into a dimly lit living room with no smells or sounds of a meal to be found. Alicia walked into the living room and looked around expectantly, but no one was there. She turned to Adam with her hands outstretched and was about to speak when a noise from the back of the apartment caught their attention. They moved to the hall and stopped when it became evident that the noise was coming from the bedroom. The door was ajar and Alicia suddenly froze, overcome with fear. On some level she knew what she was about to see, but she couldn’t face it. Adam had no such concern; he pushed the door wide open and allowed the sickening spectacle in the room to be seen by both of them.

  Alicia turned an ashen gray as she witnessed her beloved fiance, Preston, having frantic and sloppy sex with Adam’s girlfriend, Yvette. They were so involved in their frenzied activity that they had no idea they were being observed. Yvette’s head was banging over and over against the headboard as she screamed Preston’s name out loud. Preston, clad in his fraternity T-shirt and black silk socks, one of which had a tiny hole in the heel, was making the gorilla face that heralded a massive orgasm, as he demanded to know whose body he was savaging.

  “Whose is it, Momma? Whose is it? Who’s your daddy now, huh?”

  Despite the sordid scene before him, Adam’s dry wit didn’t desert him. Flipping on the overhead light, he asked in a monotone, “Are we too late for dinner? Since y’all seem to be having dessert, it only seems right to ask.”

  Yvette screamed and pushed Preston off her writhing body, causing Preston to lose his balance and fall off the bed. Alicia stared at her faithless fiance in stark horror until she finally remembered to breathe, then she pushed past Adam to go back into the living room. Adam felt no need to leave, however.

  “Get dressed and get out and if either of you so much as looks at Alicia while you’re leaving, you be leaving here butt-ass naked,” he said with true menace in his voice. And to their total chagrin he stayed where he was while they scrambled into their clothes like an amateur porn movie played in fast-forward.

  Incredibly the whole thing only lasted about ten minutes. Alicia sat in the living room, her face an unmoving mask of pain, while Adam ushered them out the door, not allowing either to speak a word. When they were gone he went into the bedroom, stripped the linens, and opened the windows to release the fetid smell of illicit sex. Coming back into the living area, he located a trash bag in the kitchen and deposited the soiled and irredeemable sheets into the trash bag and put it in the corridor outside the front door. He knew without being told that Alicia would sooner die than lie on those sheets again, no matter how often they were laundered.

  Finally he washed his hands and came into the living room where Alicia sat without moving, staring at nothing at all. His concern was all over his face as he sat down and put his arms around her. At first she resisted, but the strong, sure touch of his warm hands made her melt against him. She allowed him to pull her into his arms and give her the comfort she deserved.

  “I’m sorry you had to see that, Alicia, I’m sorry that I brought that selfish little bitch into your life. I feel like this is somehow my fault, baby.”

  Alicia didn’t answer at first; she just crawled into his lap and held on to him for long wordless moments. Finally she mumbled something he had to ask her to repeat. She sighed, then sat up and spoke more clearly.

  “Don’t be sorry. Be glad we found out what they really are before it was too late. Just think, I could have married that jerk,” she said in a croaky voice that didn’t sound anything like her own.

  Adam rocked her like a baby for a while, and asked if she wanted to spend the night at his place. Alicia’s eyes grew misty and she smiled, a weak and shaky smile to be sure, but it was a start. “Thanks, but I’m not letting him run me out of my own home. I am, however, sleeping on the sofa. After we drink that wine, that is. Open it up and let’s get drunk,” she said, wiping her leaking eyes.

  ***

  Roxy’s eyes were wide and her mouth was hanging open in amazement. “Girl, no, you didn’t! Y’all drank that bottle of wine and in the middle of a drunken fit you started ripping each other’s clothes off! I’m ... I’m stunned. I’m just floored, I really am.”

  “You’re also wrong, Rox. You’re completely and totally wrong. We didn’t do anything but have a few glasses of wine. I was too numb to do anything else. I was in such a state of shock I couldn’t really react at that moment. I couldn’t talk, I couldn’t think, and I was damned if I was going to cry in front of Adam; I just wasn’t going out like that. My brothers would have beaten the paste out of me if I’d ended up a sniveling mess; I had the Fuentes name to uphold. We don’t break down in front of anyone; no matter how much it hurts you never let them see you cry.

  “We drank the wine, we sat there looking stupid for a while, and he left. I made up a bed on the couch and I eventually went to sleep. The wine was good for that at least,” she said ruefully.

  They were now sitting in the middle of the big bed and Roxy fell over on her side with a groan. “Alicia, quit dragging this out and get to the meat of the story. Did you or did you not do the deed with Adam? And if so, when? Don’t do this to me, woman, you know I have immediate gratification syndrome, I need to know now."

  “My goodness, you are impatient, aren’t you? Okay, sit up and listen. I was like an automaton for the next few weeks. I managed to get a new mattress, finish my exams, explain to my family that the engagement was off, and ignore the gossip on campus. I even survived the inevitable confrontation with Preston, who somehow had the shiny brass cojones to try to get back into my life and my bed by apologizing. Over and over again, I might add. He sent so many flowers my apartment looked like a funeral home, or it would have if I hadn’t given the flowers away to everyone in the building,” she said derisively.

  “I was miserable, but I made it through all of that mess until Yvette came to me and announced that she was pregnant and if I would just be so kind as to stop clinging to Preston, they could have a life together. That was just too much sugar for a dime, as my grandmother used to say. He didn’t want her and had the gall to use me as a reason for not marrying her,” Alicia said indignantly. “I went ziggety-boom on that heifer. I cussed her for old and new and told her to go hell. Don’t pass go, don’t collect two hundred dollars, just go straight to hell and take her Satan spawn with her. I swore for about ten minutes in Spanish and English until her eyes were popping out of her head and she looked like a troll doll. She was standing in my doorway like I was supposed to invite her in for tea or something. I shoved her bony butt into the hallway and slammed the door.” Alicia’s eyes were blazing with remembered pain.

  “For some stupid reason, that’s what did it,” she admitted slowly. “That’s what made me go all gooey in the noggin and head straight to Adam’s apartment.”

  ***

  The scent of the spring rain coming in the open windows was a refreshing contrast to Adam’s current mood. The situation with Alicia was eating at him like a slow-acting poison. He knew he’d never forget the look on her face when she realized that the man she was prepared to spend her life with was rutting another woman in her bed like a boar servicing a breeding sow in heat. He’d cursed himself over and over again for pushing open that door, knowing what was on the other side, but he couldn’t undo what he’d done. And he certainly couldn’t take back the set of circumstances that had led Yvette and Preston to betray the people they supposedly cared about. It was iro
nic in a sick way; he’d been as devastated as Alicia over the incident but for an entirely different reason. He wanted to rage and rant and plant his foot deeply in Preston’s behind, but not because of Yvette, because of Alicia.

  He and Yvette had been dating, true, but she was like every other woman in his life, a temporary diversion, someone to spend time with. She was pretty and mildly amusing, but finding her in bed with another man affected him only because it almost destroyed Alicia. She was gaunt and pale and listless, and even though she was putting on a brave front, she was miserable. He was frankly amazed that she’d aced all her exams and was still going to take on a fellowship over the summer. He smiled wryly, thinking that in many ways, she reminded him of his sister Benita. She was completely feminine, true, but she was also tough and resolute. No one was going to keep her down for long.

  Adam looked around his partially packed apartment and sighed deeply. In a few days he’d be heading off to California for a summer internship and he’d be away from the situation in body, but not in mind. The thought of being away from Alicia was causing him distress he didn’t want to deal with. He walked over to the stereo system that was still set up and slipped in a Miles Davis CD. The lush love song that issued from the speakers probably wasn’t the best choice, given his mood. He was about to substitute his favorite Roxy Music CD when he heard a knock at the door. He wasn’t really dressed for company; he was wearing denim shorts that had seen their best days some years before and he was shirtless. He was also barefoot, but anyone who came to his place unannounced had to take him as he was. Opening the door he was stunned to find Alicia, soaking wet from the rain and trembling.

  He ushered her in immediately, asking what was wrong. “Baby, you’re wet to the skin and you don’t even have a coat on. What’s the matter, Alicia? What brought you out in this rain?”

  She shook her head mutely and he realized that the moisture on her face wasn’t just rain, it was tears. He pulled her into his arms and held her against his chest, his heart breaking as she sobbed against his neck.

  “Alicia, baby, tell me what’s wrong,” he entreated her. “What’s happened to hurt you so, angel? Tell me.”

  Her sobs continued as though his soft words only made her feel worse. Picking her up in his arms as though she were a tiny child, he carried her into his bedroom and sat her on the bed.

  “I’ll get it all wet," she said, sniffling.

  “No, you won’t. I’m going to get you all dry, how’s that?” he said softly. He handed her some big fluffy towels and one of his sweatshirts, plus a pair of thick woolen socks. “Take off those wet things and put these on. I’m going to make you some tea, okay? I’ll be right back.”

  In a short time she was attired in dry clothing and sitting in the middle of the bed looking lost and embarrassed and he was back with a steaming mug of tea that smelled heavenly. It also had a delicious taste as she discovered when she took a sip. She smiled when she realized that he’d laced it with rum. “Mmm, that’s nice,” she murmured.

  Adam didn’t answer. He was busy lighting some big scented candles on his dresser. He got in the bed with her and completely surprised her by sitting behind her so he could dry her hair. He wrapped a towel around her shoulders and removed the band from her hair to begin blotting the moisture from it while he talked to her in a soft, soothing voice. 9888888888886She allowed his hands and the sound of his voice to lull her out of her agitation. Only the occasional hiccup remained of her tears and she felt warm and protected. After the tea was finished she leaned forward to put the mug on the nightstand. Then she scooted back against Adam and sighed raggedly as she felt his arms enfold her.

  “She’s pregnant, Adam. She came to see me today, to tell me she was having Preston’s baby and to ask me to stay out of his life so they could be together,” she said, unaware that her voice was shaking. “As if I’d give that louse the time of day. If his head was on fire I wouldn’t pour a glass of water on it,” she added with as much scorn as she could muster with the tears returning. “I don’t ever want to see him again in this life and I don’t care what happens to him, or to her, but here I am crying like an idiot and I don’t know why,” she sobbed.

  Adam couldn’t stand her anguish one more second. He turned her around in his embrace so that she was facing him and he kissed her tears away, kissed her and held her tightly and assured her that it was okay to cry.

  “Let it all out, baby, then it’ll all be over. Just let it go, Allie, get rid of it.”

  His arms tightened around her and he continued to kiss her face and her neck and slowly she began to return his kisses, on his neck, then his cheek, then their lips touched, very slowly and gently, as fleeting as the caress of the rain that fell against the windows. Adam sat up and tried to pull away from her. The softness of her lips, her skin, the satiny smoothness of her long bare legs revealed in the oversized but inadequate cover of the sweatshirt, and the delicate scent of her skin were too much for him to stand.

  “Alicia,” he murmured, trying to put some space between his yearning and the temptation of her body, “Alicia, angel...”

  He couldn’t get out another word because her lips were caressing his and the sensation was too overpowering to deny. He pulled her luscious lower lip into his mouth and sucked on it tenderly, then sighed with delight as she returned the favor, pressing closer to his body and opening her mouth to allow their tongues to caress each other. The kiss went on and on, sending waves of passion through him like a seismic shock resonating in a desert. The fire continued to build as their hands began to explore their heated bodies, touching each other, caressing each other, demanding more and more.

  Adam’s big hands encircled Alicia’s waist under the bulky garment and found her tight, supple body pliant and yielding to his exploration. Her slim, clever hands were making demands of their own, sliding over his broad chest and smoothing her warm palms against his sensitized nipples until a surge of passion arose from which there would be no turning back.

  “Stop, baby, we have to stop this,” he murmured, but any fool could tell he didn’t mean it.

  Alicia pulled away from his embrace long enough to remove the sweatshirt, kneeling in front of Adam with her eyes ablaze with desire and her kiss-swollen lips daring him to resist.

  “No, Adam, we don’t have to stop,” she said so softly that he could barely hear her. She looked incredibly beautiful, the candlelight glinting off the dusky bronze of her naked body. She stared at Adam with need and desire pouring out of every pore, smiling a little as she reached back to discreetly remove the big wool socks. She repeated her words in the same hushed voice heavy with longing.

  “We don’t have to stop, do we?”

  His only answer was to remove the few items of clothing that he was wearing and hold his arms open for her willing body. With a sigh of anticipation, she slid into them as though she were born for his pleasure alone. They held each other for long moments, delighting in the feel of silken skin against hard muscle, and then Adam turned her so she was on her back. With great tenderness and devotion, he kissed her face, her lips, her neck, and her shoulders, while his hands caressed her breasts. His lips and tongue pleasured each nipple as his hands began a more intimate exploration of her most feminine attributes, teaching her a kind of loving she’d never experienced before.

  Alicia tried to reciprocate but Adam wouldn’t allow it. He took complete control of her body as he devoured every inch of it with his hands and his tongue, branding her in a way that her ex-fiance hadn’t come close to achieving. She was sighing his name over and over and trembling with barely suppressed passion when she felt his massive erection against her thigh as he reached for the box of condoms in the nightstand. He was about to rip open the packet with his teeth when she took it from him and pushed his shoulders so that he was lying down and she was in control, if only for the length of time it took to put the latex condom on. The heat of her small hands on his engorged, sensitized member was almost his undoing, b
ut he controlled himself until he eased his thick, straining manhood into her hot, moist opening and joined their bodies in the most intimate embrace possible.

  He brushed her hair away from her face and looked at her with eyes made heavy by the extreme erotic pleasure and was touched to see her looking at him with such love and tenderness that he knew at that moment this was the woman without whom life would have no meaning. Their bodies rocked back and forth in the age-old rhythm and the primal pressure that was building in both of them exploded into a shattering climax that went on longer than anything he’d ever experienced in his life.

  Allie, Allie, my heart, my angel, I love you, I love you, baby, he thought, and in the trembling, mindless shattering release that followed he could have sworn he heard her saying the same words to him.

  By now Roxy’s eyes were full of tears and she was wiping them away with the sleeve of her expensive pima cotton pajamas. “Oh, my soul, Alicia. That’s the most beautiful story I’ve ever heard. About two people I actually know, that is. It was magical.” She sighed. “So what happened next? Why didn’t you just pick up from there and go on like two people in love since you obviously were?”

  Alicia had been sitting Indian style for so long her legs were cramped. She gingerly unfolded them and got up from the bed for a long stretch. Looking down at Roxy, who was staring at her expectantly, she shrugged. “That’s a good question. It’s just not that simple, Rox.”

  She put her hands in her pockets and wandered around the spacious bedroom, taking in the opulent furnishings and freeing one hand to finger the gilt tracery on the dresser. Finally she looked into the big mirror and met the reflection of Roxy’s inquisitive gaze. “That night it seemed like the simplest thing in the world. We connected so profoundly and so intimately, it was obvious that we belonged together. But in the bright light of morning, it was just all wrong.”