Cold

by Sha Jones

  Chapter 3

  It was like a blow to the gut. With all of these suspicions, I still wasn’t ready to think the worst. Monday was just another day and I had two cases on my desk, but I really wasn’t in the best mood. Although I let the shit slide with Michael for forgetting our anniversary, it was still on my mind. To make up for his mistake, he was going to put together a nice dinner date and Carl and his wife Tangy was invited. Draya comes into my office and stand in the middle of the door way smiling.

  “So how was your anniversary?” she asked excitedly.

  I wanted to lie and say it went well, but I couldn’t continue to pretend as if everything was going great between me and Michael so I just looked at her and shook my head.

  “He forgot our anniversary and he didn’t come home or even call me. He walked his ass in the house the next morning as if everything was alright.”

  Talking about it made me feel like I was reliving it all over again. I was over the whole anniversary thing. What was bothering me was the fact that he didn’t come home until the next morning. I didn’t want to be naïve but I also didn’t want to jump to conclusions. Michael has worked over night in the past, but it seems like he was working late all the time now. Draya stood there with her mouth open as if she was really in shock.

  “Wow,” she responded. “Do you think he’s cheating?” she asked with her eyebrows raised.

  I didn’t want to let my mind go there so I just no. Quickly changing the subject I asked, “Are you through with those files I gave to you? I’ll need them in a couple of days.”

  Nodding her head she responded, “I should be through tomorrow.”

  I cut on my computer to check my email and my phone buzzed. It said unknown caller on the screen. I wanted to take my phone and crush it into pieces. I rejected the call and continued to scroll through my emails. My phone then buzzed again. ‘Was this some kind of joke?’ I wondered to myself. This had to be an angry criminal or a family member of an angry criminal I put away. I couldn’t just change my number because I had too many clients and my phone was a part of my work. I walked down the hall to pour myself a cup of coffee and ran into one of my colleagues.

  “Hey Melanie,” I said reluctantly.

  She just walked past me without speaking. We never saw eye to eye and her liking my husband didn’t make us working together easy either. One year I invited her to one of my Christmas parties and I don’t know if she was just drunk or crazy, but she was all in my man’s face. She was rubbing on his chest and arms, but what really pissed me off was she grabbed his dick. Before I knew it, I was all over her beating her ass. I know it was unprofessional on my part but she was wrong. The shit happened years ago so I figured that she would be over it already. While I’m back in my office looking over a few cases, my office phone rings. I was so paranoid; I was always thinking it was the mystery caller.

  “Mrs. Moore you have a call on line one.”

  I took a deep breath and braced myself.

  “Who is it?” I asked.

  “It’s Michael.”

  With a smile on my face, I answered, “Put him through.”

  Since he forgot our anniversary, he was trying to kiss ass.

  “Hey baby. I made dinner reservations for tonight. Are you sure you want to invite Tangy and Carl because I wanted to spend some alone time with you.”

  I sighed, “Yes, they are our good friends and I’ve been trying to set up a double date. Besides, I already invited them.”

  After getting off the phone with Michael, I felt better. Whatever anger or suspicion I had towards him kind of faded. It seems like he was trying. The day zoomed by although my morning started off a little slow. I decided to leave work early. I pulled into the garage and seen Michael’s car. ‘Hmm I wonder why Michael is home so early,’ I thought to myself. I hurry up and pull the key out of the ignition and walk in the house. It was so quiet and there was no sight of Michael. I slowly tip toe up the stairs. I walk to my room and put my ear to the door to check for movement. I slowly open the door and walk in. I stood there with my mouth open. Michael was sitting on the edge of the bed half naked with rose pedals everywhere and he had my favorite bottle of wine on the dresser. I was smiling so hard, my cheeks started to burn. He then scoots closer to the edge of the bed and grabs my hand and pulls me close to him. He stood up and pulled me closer. I could smell his cologne. I could see the veins in his arms. I’m not sure if he worked out today but he looked more muscular. His abs were rock hard and so was his dick and it was trying to burst out of his boxers. He grabbed the back of my neck and kissed me. The kiss was so powerful, it made my knees buckle.

  While kissing me, he was rotating his tongue in this circular rhythm. It tasted sweet like honey. Keeping the circular motion going with his tongue, Michael moved down to my neck. It sent chills down my back. I didn’t know where this was coming from, but I was enjoying every bit of it. Michael unbuttoned my shirt and pulled one of my breasts out of my bra and began sucking on my nipples. By this point, I’m on fire. I threw my head back and let out this deep sigh. Before I knew it, my legs were wrapped around his waist and he was laying me on the bed. Michael pulled my skirt down and ripped my panties off. My heart was beating fast and I was breathing heavy. While he’s still kissing me, he pulls his boxers off. I could feel his erect dick rubbing up against my thigh. My pussy was throbbing and I couldn’t take him teasing me any longer. As soon as Michael slid inside of me, I let out this deep moan. He was stroking me so good and long, my mouth started to water and tears were coming out of my eyes. I had my legs on his shoulders. He was moaning and licking his lips. Every stroke became more intense. The final stroke was so strong, he let out a roar and both of our bodies went limp.

  Breathing hard I asked, “Where did this come from?”

  Michael lifted his head up and responded, “I just thought I’d make up for the other night.”

  He rolled off of me and walked to the shower. I grabbed a towel and this time I was able to join him. Michael gently washed my back as the shower rained down on me. I couldn’t believe how amazing he was being. I felt like I had won my husband back. After showering, we then held each other tight. I didn’t want to let go. Words couldn’t express how much I loved my husband and I was happy to be back in his arms again. It’s almost time for us to get ready for our dinner date and I’m going through my closet trying to find something to wear. I pulled out a red dress, held it up and looked at Michael.

  “How does this look baby?” I asked him with one eyebrow raised.

  He steps back to examine the dress better and responds, “It looks good. I think it will go great with your red lipstick.”

  I smiled and laid the dress across the bed.

  “Thanks baby.”

  While looking for the perfect shoes, my phone buzzed. I grab my phone and look at the screen. It was the mystery caller.

  “Great, another fucking call!” I sighed loudly to myself as I rejected the call.

  “Michael looks at me with a confused look on his face.

  “What’s wrong Tiff?” he asked with concern.

  “I’ve been getting these private calls. They call, breathe into the phone like a maniac and hang up.”

  I was ready to get to the bottom of this. It was bothering me that I didn’t know who it was. My phone then buzzed again. It was the private caller. Michael grabs my phone and in a deep tone he answers, “Whoever this is calling my wife needs to stop with the bull…”

  Before he could finish his sentence, the caller hung up. I just shook my head and stared off into space trying to figure out who could be this childish. I and Michael finished getting dressed and headed out the door. When we get to the restaurant, we immediately spot Carl and Tangy. I walked over to them and gave them a hug. Michael walks up to Carl and shakes his hand and gives Tangy a kiss on the cheek. While sitting at the table waiting for our food, we catch up on each other.

  “So how have you guys been?” Carl asked with a big grin on hi
s face.

  I was still upset about the private call. I guess Carl could sense something was wrong. He and Tangy looked at Michael with frowns on their faces and in a joking voice Tangy asks, “Mike, what did you do to her?”

  Shaking my head, I looked at them with a serious face.

  “It’s not Michael. Someone has been calling my phone and hanging up. The shit is crazy. It’s like an everyday thing,” I sighed.

  “Who do you think it could be Tiff?” Carl asked.

  “I don’t know. I’ve been trying to figure that out for weeks.”

  Michael grabs my hand and looks at me with sympathy in his eyes.

  “It’s okay baby. We’ll get to the bottom of this shit soon; I promise but right now let’s enjoy our night.”

  We ate our food, had a few drinks and laughed the whole night. After we paid for our dinner, we left the restaurant tipsy. On our way home, Michael stopped at a gas station. When he comes out of the store, he is approached by a white male. I couldn’t make out the conversation, but I could tell from Michael’s body language, he was irritated. The guy looked so familiar but I couldn’t put my finger on who he was. Michael finally gets the man to calm down and walk away. He walks back toward the car and pumps gas and gets back in the driver’s seat.

  Looking at Michael as if he was a ghost I asked, “Honey is everything alright? Who the hell was that?”

  Michael looked at me and shook his head.

  “It was an old client of mine. He’s been calling me about his case, but I’ve been too busy to answer the call so I guess he followed me.”

  In shock, I responded, “Ok that’s just crazy and unsafe.”

  I could tell he was frustrated and didn’t really want to hear what I had to say.

  “Tiff everything is fine. I’m a grown man and I can handle whatever comes my way.”

  I just stared at him like he was crazy and didn’t say anything else about the encounter I just witnessed. The ride home was very quiet. I was extremely uncomfortable. I didn’t understand why someone would follow us at 11:00 at night. Although Michael reassured me that everything was fine, I still felt like something was wrong. Was my husband’s life in danger?

  Chapter 4

  I’m lying in bed and I’m tossing and turning. I couldn’t get over the fact that someone was following us. ‘Was he dangerous? Was our life in danger?’ I wondered to myself. I turned the light on and stared at Michael while he was asleep. I guess he could feel my eyes beaming down on him because he slowly opened his eyes.

  “Tiff, what’s wrong?” he asked in a sleepy voice.

  “Michael I’m scared. I’ve been getting private calls and some guy was basically stalking us. Do you think there’s some type of connection?” I asked.

  Michael looked at me as if he was in a daze. I could tell he was irritated with me for waking him up in the middle of the night but I didn’t care. I needed some damn answers. If someone was playing with us, I wanted their asses behind bars. Michael sat up and tried once again reassuring me that everything was fine.

  “Sweetheart, I think you are being paranoid. I told you it was my client. They are trying to put him behind bars for a crime that can get you put away for a long time. The guy is just desperate right now, that’s all,” Michael explained.

  I didn’t care how desperate he was. He still had no right to stalk my husband at no damn 11:00 at night.

  Looking at Michael with my eyes wide open I asked, “Ok so what did he do that was so bad that he had to follow you?”

  Michael paused and turned his head away from me and in a cold tone he replied, “Rape.”

  I wasn’t really shocked because I’ve handled the most heinous crimes. I just looked at him and shook my head.

  “Ok great! We have a rapist following us and he probably knows where we live!”

  Before Michael could respond his phone buzzed.

  “Hello,” he answered.

  He paused and said, “What’s up Melanie?”

  I jumped up like I had fire under my ass and yelled, “Melanie, why the fuck is she calling you this late?!”

  Michael put his hand up as if he was trying to silence me. I was pissed off all over again. He puts his hand over the phone’s speaker and whispered to me, “Look, it’s not like that. We’re just trying to handle some work related business.”

  If looks could kill, his ass would be laying on the floor with his tongue hanging out right now. It’s like I lost my mind because before me or him knew it, I snatched his phone from his ear. I had to keep in mind that Melanie and I worked together and there was no bitch worth my career so in a calm voice, I spoke into the phone.

  “Melanie, whatever you need to talk to my husband about, can wait until the morning,” and hung up in her face.

  I then turned to Michael and gave him the coldest stare.

  “Are you sleeping with her? Are you fucking her?!”

  He walked over to me and trying to explain. He reached for my hand and sighed, “Tiff.”

  I pulled my hand back and repeated, “Are you fucking her? Yes of no?”

  He shook his head at me and grabbed a pillow off the bed and went downstairs. ‘Here we go again,’ I thought to myself. Sleep wasn’t even in my plans and all I kept thinking about was going to work and confronting Melanie’s ass. The next morning, I pull into the parking garage. I made sure to get to work 30 minutes early so I can catch Melanie as she pulled up. I didn’t want to slap the shit out of her in the office building, so I decided to confront her outside. While waiting in my car, I pull my tennis shoes out of my duffle bag just in case she tried to start some shit with me. She’s been trying to get with Michael since we were in law school. She always liked him but he ended up marrying me. While I’m lacing up my shoes, I see Melanie’s jaguar pull into the parking garage. I start my engine and follow her to her parking spot. As soon as she stepped out of her car, I approached her. She looked a little surprised.

  “Can I help you?” she asked with a puzzled look on her face.

  I stood there with my arms folded and glared at her.

  “No, can I help you? You’re calling my man at 2:00 in the morning so what did you need help with? What could you have possibly needed at that moment that you couldn’t wait until the sun came up?” I asked with an attitude.

  She steps back to examine me and just stared at me like she didn’t recognize me.

  “Tiffany what is all of this?” she asked as she looked down at my tennis shoes.

  I guess since I was standing there wearing a blouse and a pencil skirt with Nikes on my feet, she knew she was facing a possible ass whooping.

  Looking at her and rolling my neck I responded, “What do you think it is Melanie?”

  I could tell she was nervous. With a devious grin on her face she said, “Tiffany, what me and Michael talk about doesn’t concern you. Instead of checking me, you need to check your man. I’m not the one that you need to worry about stealing your man. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get to work. I wouldn’t want to stay at work all night working on cases.”

  I knew she was being sarcastic. She then walked past me and lightly flipped her hair out of her face. All the animosity I had for her was on pause because I was now confused. For one, how the hell does she know that Michael was coming home late and who else was trying to steal my man? I rush to work and call Draya into my office. I was visibly upset and I felt like I was out of touch with reality. There were too many weird things happening around me. I wanted to know what the hell Melanie was talking about. Draya comes into my office and hands me a cup of coffee.

  “Hey girl, what’s so important that I had to stop what I was doing?” she asked sarcastically.

  “Melanie called Michael’s phone at 2:00 in the morning.”

  Looking at me with her mouth open, she said, “Girl, you lying. What did she want?”

  I just shook my head.

  “I don’t know. I confronted her in the parking lot and she was saying some crap about
how I shouldn’t be concerned about her wanting Michael almost like she was hinting to me that it was someone else.”

  Draya walks to my desk and sits down in one of my chairs. She then leaned forward and whispered, “Do you think he’s fucking her?”

  The question was so blunt, it took me by surprise.

  “Honestly, I don’t know. I just don’t want to think about that.”

  Draya looked at me like I was dumb.

  “Tiff don’t be naïve. If the bitch is calling him at 2:00 in the morning then something isn’t right.”

  She rolled her eyes and shook her head. I know she thought I was dumb, but I really had no proof of what was really going on. I and Michael have been married for 7 years. I couldn’t just walk away from my marriage because of a suspicion. As Draya gets up and walk away, she stopped in her tracks and turned to me and with a serious look in her eyes she said, “Tiff, you need to be careful. I don’t trust Melanie,” and walked out of my office.

  Chapter 5

  I had to go to court in a few minutes so I needed to gather my thoughts quickly. After my trial was over, I gathered all of my belongings and left work. When I entered the parking garage, it looked deserted. With each step I took, my head pounded harder. The click of my heels on the concrete only intensified the pain. As I’m getting closer to my car, I see a black shadow run from the passenger side of my car. It stopped me in my tracks. I started walking slowly towards my car.