Trouble in the White House

by Brenda Hampton

  Not wanting to waste time, I lifted my hand, gesturing for Levi to come to the table. He stood next to me.

  “Has anybody important been trying to reach me?” I asked him.

  “Nope. Believe it or not, things are pretty quiet.”

  “I can’t believe that, and what you’re saying is, I’m good to disappear for a few hours, right?”

  “You’re good, but never too good, if you know what I mean.”

  “I assume you’re referring to Raynetta.”

  “Exactly. But you’re the boss, and the boss can do what he wishes, whether I’m okay with it or not.”

  “So, what are you implying? That you’re not okay with some of the things I do or have done?” I quizzed.

  Levi didn’t hold back. “No, I’m not okay with everything you do, only because situations like this can set you back. You don’t need setbacks. You’re a much better president when your eyes are on the prize, you’re focused, and you’re with the woman you love. Temptation is a mutha, and I’ll be the first man to admit that in no way would I ever walk away from a woman like Michelle. But you’re not me. You’re better than me. That’s why you’re the president and I’m not.”

  I stood, then reached out my hand to shake Levi’s. “I appreciate the kind words, but here’s the deal. The woman I love is a liar, temptation feels good, and setbacks can be setups for good things to come. And even though I am better than you, I still can’t see myself walking away from this opportunity tonight. Follow me upstairs. If you need me, you know where I’ll be.”

  Levi walked with me to the elevator, and when it opened, several young women were inside.

  “Oh my God!” one of the women shouted. “It’s the president! Would you mind taking a picture with us? Please.”

  Giddy as ever, they all seemed thrilled to see me. I had no problem taking pictures with them, even if it stalled me for ten more minutes.

  “Thank you, Mr. President. You are freaking awesome. Have a good night, okay?” said the same woman when the photo session was over.

  “You all do the same. And no more drinking. I smell it, and I don’t want you all out there drinking and driving.”

  They all looked at each other, laughing and giggling. Some appeared embarrassed too.

  “Oh, no, sir,” one of the women said. “We wouldn’t do that. We plan to walk to wherever we go tonight. Thanks again for the pictures.”

  They laughed and walked off. I got on the elevator with Levi, and as soon as the doors closed, he looked at me.

  “When is the last time you spoke to Raynetta or your mother?” he asked.

  I shook my head, well aware of what he was doing. “I know you’re trying to make me think about Raynetta, but it’s not going to work. Bringing up my mother won’t work, either, but when you get a chance, be sure to check on her for me. I want to make sure she hasn’t attempted to burn the institution down.”

  Levi laughed, and when the elevator came to a stop and opened, we got off. He stood by the door to Michelle’s room while I lightly tapped on it. She opened the door, wearing a beige silk and lace bra and matching hipster panties. I didn’t even bother to look at Levi before I entered the room and shut the door behind me. Within a matter of seconds, she was wrapped in my arms and our lips were locked together.

  “How did I ever get so lucky?” she said between severely wet and juicy kisses. She backed her head away from mine, then gazed into my eyes. There was no breathing room between us, and as she continued to speak, my hands squeezed her soft body and roamed. “You have no idea what you do to me, Stephen. I can’t pretend anymore. I am so in love with you, and it is my wish that we can one day be together. Tell me there is hope. Please tell me. It is something I am dying to hear from you.”

  In the moment, I couldn’t say anything. My steel had grown to great lengths, her body against mine felt perfect, and as I had already begun to touch the super-wet crotch section of her panties, my brain was focused on the feel of her insides. I didn’t want to discuss love. Wasn’t trying to be hopeful, but I did care about Michelle’s feelings. I knew they were strong, but I hadn’t thought we were at a point where she wanted more than . . . this.

  “I can’t,” I said. “I can’t tell you what you want to hear, because—”

  She placed her finger on my lips. “Fine. It’s okay. You don’t have to say anything right now. Just hold me. Make love to me, dip your tongue inside of me, and kiss me all over like you do so well.”

  I damn sure wanted to, but I paused for a moment to speak. “I don’t want you to feel as if I’m using you. I’m not, but I just can’t—”

  She silenced my words, this time with another juicy kiss. “Use me. I don’t care. This moment in time with you is good enough. Take me . . . take all of me to the bedroom. Have your way with me. I’m all yours.”

  Michelle started to remove my clothes. She could see how reluctant I was to help, and that prompted her to speed things along. She removed her bra and panties, and as she stood naked, she extended her hand to mine. My shirt was off; my jeans were unbuttoned and were barely hanging on my ass. I followed her into the bedroom, and as she lay back on the comfortable-looking king bed, I removed my jeans, then got on top of her. With her soft legs wrapped around my back, I gazed into her eyes, which weakened me by the second. Unable to stare at her and say what I wanted to, I turned my head to the side.

  “You deserve so much better than this,” I said truthfully. “I do want to make love to you so badly, but we can never have more than this.”

  She turned my head to make me look at her. “I don’t care. This will have to be enough for now. Maybe one day you’ll change your mind, and then you’ll understand why we keep finding ourselves in situations like this.”

  I knew why, but I didn’t tell her. I knew that I had love for only one woman, but Raynetta was a woman I didn’t trust. I didn’t feel as if she really had my back, like she said she did, but regardless, when all was said and done, Michelle would be the one who was severely hurt. With that in the forefront of my mind, I removed her legs from around me and lay next to her in bed. For the first time ever, she shot me a look that said she was pissed.

  “What are you doing?” she said. “I said I could handle this, didn’t I? I regret telling you how I felt. I should have kept my mouth shut. Did my words scare you?”

  “No, but they woke me up. J-just lie back and let me hold you. I want to hold you, if that’s okay with you.”

  Michelle didn’t hold back; she was very upset with me. She got off the bed and stood next to me. “No, it’s not okay. I was so hyped about seeing you again, and I don’t want to hear about what I deserve. I know what I deserve, and that’s you. Even if it’s not all that I . . .”

  As she rambled on, I pulled her back on the bed and held her in my arms like I wanted to. She attempted to move, but my hold on her was tight. I kissed her forehead, then wrapped her legs together with mine.

  “One day you’re going to thank me for this, because if we proceed, I’m going to hurt you in ways that you never thought were possible. I don’t want to do that, Michelle, and having the greatest sex in the world won’t spare us the headaches of tomorrow. I said you deserve better, and I meant it. I apologize for getting your juices flowing, and believe me when I say that this is not easy.”

  She pouted. “My juices are doing more than flowing. You need to go down there and see for yourself what’s really going on.”

  “I’ll take your word for it, because if I go down there, I may have to scrap everything I said and shoot for being a better man on another day.”

  It pleased me to hear Michelle laugh. She relaxed in my arms while laying her head on my chest and softly rubbing it.

  “Raynetta is a lucky woman. I still think I am too, simply because it must take a special kind of woman to be lying here with you. I enjoy our conversations, and if we have to resort solely to that, I guess I can live with it.”

  “First of all, I’m the one who is lucky
. Lucky to have you as a friend, and so lucky that you didn’t just throw me out of here,” I said.

  “The only person I’m going to throw out of here is myself. I need to go take a long cold shower. There is no way in hell I’m going to lie naked with you all night and not attempt to get me some. You may be strong, Mr. President, but my flesh, all of it, is very weak when I’m around you.”

  Michelle moved away from me and got out of bed. Seeing moistness between her thighs aroused me again; she wasn’t the only one who needed a cold shower.

  “Will you still be here when I get out of the shower?” she asked.

  “I hate to say it, but no. I need a cold shower too, and don’t even think about asking me to join you.”

  She started to tease me by massaging her breasts together and touching her shaved, succulent-looking pussy, which was already leaking. “I was going to ask you, after all. You did enjoy our bath the last time we were together, didn’t you? We weren’t even completely intimate, but you did have fun, right?”

  I did, but I didn’t answer her. I got off the bed, turned to look away from her. “I’m not looking at you, and I’m not listening to you, either. The only things I’m looking for are my clothes.”

  Michelle rushed in front of the bed and snatched up my clothes. She held them in her hands and threatened to open the sliding door to the balcony and throw my clothes over it if I wouldn’t watch her tease show.

  “Not my clothes. Please don’t do that. Besides, my wallet is inside of my jeans. In no way do I want to lose that.”

  “That would be so cruel of me, but you know I wouldn’t toss your wallet. As for your clothes, well, unless you watch me or change your mind about the shower, over the rail they go.”

  I seriously thought Michelle was playing. But right after she tossed my wallet to me and I bent over to get it, she slid the door to the balcony open, then threw my clothes over the rail. Afterward, she swiped her hands together. A smile was on her face, but I stood there pretty damn stunned.

  “That’s what you get for getting me all stirred up tonight. I forgive you, and now we’re even.”

  “Even? I wouldn’t exactly call what you just did even.”

  I charged at her and quickly threw her over my shoulder. She playfully kicked her legs around, and when we entered the bathroom, I turned the water in the shower on cold. I placed her inside the shower stall and held her at a distance as the cold water drenched her.

  “Now we’re even,” I said, watching her attempt to move away from the water. She couldn’t; all she could do was laugh.

  “Okay, okay, you got me. But you still have to leave this room with no clothes on. Good luck with that.”

  I released her arms, then snatched two long towels from the towel rack. I tossed one to Michelle, and the other I wrapped around my waist. As she wiped herself off, I kissed her cheek.

  “Good night,” I said. “I need to go. Thanks for the good time, as usual.”

  “You’re welcome. And be safe on your trip overseas. I’ll be praying for you.”

  I told Michelle I would do the same, and as soon as I exited her room, I came face-to-face with Levi. He cocked his head back while looking at me with the towel around my waist.

  “I’ll explain later. Cover me and get me to my room as quickly as possible.”

  With no questions asked, Levi did just that. I was so thankful to him. He was the only person in the entire world that I trusted.

  President’s Mother,

  Teresa Jefferson

  I was so glad to get the hell out of that place. It would be a cold day in hell before I would ever go back there. I wanted to go straight to the White House and let Stephen have it, but going there would probably lead to him putting me somewhere that I couldn’t escape from. As for Raynetta, the nerve of her coming to where I was, thinking that she had some kind of control over me. That was laughable. I hated that woman so much, and I figured she and Stephen had worked things out. In no way did she seem like they hadn’t.

  Either way, I had to get to St. Louis and find out what was going on with my grandson. I had already called Ina, but she hadn’t answered her phone. I didn’t bother to search newspapers or listen to the media—they were known for lying about shit. Instead, I caught a bus that got me close enough to my house where I could walk the rest of the way. My feet were tired, but Lord knows I felt so relieved when I walked through the door and saw . . . saw that most of my furniture was gone. My house was damn near empty. Clothes were missing too, and the only person who could have been responsible for this was Stephen. His intentions must’ve been to put me away for good.

  Damn him, I thought. I couldn’t wait to let his ass have it. Yes, I had done wrong, but this was ridiculous. He knew that my actions were out of love. Love that was about to turn into a whole lot of hate.

  I went downstairs, where I had packed away some bags of old clothing. At least those were still there. I found a baggy pair of jeans and a sweater that would keep me warm, since it was chilly outside. After taking a shower, I changed clothes, then slicked my salt-and-pepper hair back with gel. I didn’t have time to jazz myself up—looking good was the last thing on my mind. I headed to my garage and was happy to see that my cars were still there. My Mercedes had more gas, so I hopped into it and hit the road.

  During the long drive back to St. Louis, Joshua was on my mind. I surely hoped that Ina would be able to laugh and tell me that someone within the government was playing a horrible trick on Stephen. That he had been lied to. That we all had been lied to, and this all was a joke or a scheme to get back at Stephen. That was my wish, but as I continued to call Ina’s and Joshua’s cell phones, no one ever answered.

  Almost fourteen hours later, I pulled into Ina’s driveway, where her car was parked, along with another car. The inside of the house looked rather dark, but as I walked to the door, I could see a light on in the kitchen. I knocked on the door, then rang the doorbell. Minutes later, Ina’s boyfriend came to the door. He was tall, kind of handsome, but too thin for my taste. He opened the door, squinting and frowning, as if I had shown up at the wrong time.

  “Is Ina here?” I said. “And where is Joshua?”

  His brows arched inward; he looked perplexed by my questions. “Ina is in the bedroom. Please come inside.”

  I walked inside and scanned the living room, my gazing traveling from one wall to the other. It was messy, to say the least, and the smell of funky socks tore into my nostrils. I could see a pair of tennis shoes next to the sofa. Those stinky shoes had to belong to Ina’s boyfriend, because Joshua would never wear shoes that smelled like that.

  Finally, Ina came into the living room, wearing a silk robe. She tightened the belt around her waist before turning on the light so she could see. I remained by the door and wasted no time asking her about my grandson.

  “Where is he, Ina, and why haven’t you all been answering your phones?”

  “I’ll let the two of you talk,” her boyfriend said before walking away.

  Ina cleared her throat. “Wha . . . what do you mean by where is Joshua? Don’t stand there and pretend that you don’t know. Where have you been? I can’t believe you were that upset with me.”

  A sharp pain rushed to my heart. “I don’t know anything. What am I supposed to know, Ina? And please tell me that what Stephen said isn’t true. Somebody lied to him, didn’t they?”

  Ina moved her head from side to side. Her chest started to heave in and out. Catching me off guard, she rushed up to hold me.

  “Stephen didn’t lie,” she cried. “Joshua is dead. He is no longer here, and it’s all my fault. I . . . I thought that you knew and that you missed his funeral because you were upset with me.”

  I quickly shoved Ina away from me. “Get the hell off of me with that nonsense! I can’t believe you’ve fallen for the bullshit too. How could you believe such a thing? What in the hell is wrong with y’all stupid asses? If these people tell y’all the sky is pink, y’all will believe them!
Joshua is not dead, Ina! Trust me, he is not!”

  Ina’s whole face was scrunched. She charged across the room and snatched a piece of paper off the coffee table. She reached out to hand it to me. I saw that it was Joshua’s obituary.

  “I don’t know what has gotten into you,” she said, smacking her tears away. “But I buried my child several days ago. He is not alive, and I’m sorry if you have a problem accepting it.”

  I snatched the obituary, and sure enough, there it all was, as plain as day. My chest hurt like hell. It felt as if someone was pressing down hard on my shoulders, I wasn’t able to stand. I staggered over to a chair and plopped down in it.

  “This can’t be true. Not my Joshua! There is no way I will ever accept this.”

  “How do you think I feel?” Ina said. “I don’t want to accept it, either, and I would never, ever lie to you about something like this.”

  “I don’t know who is lying, but somebody is. I can feel it. And if Joshua is dead, what in the hell are you doing back there in your room, fucking? Did you see his body? You still haven’t said what happened. That’s why I don’t believe none of this shit!”

  “What I do in my house is none of your business. I refused to look at Joshua’s body because of the condition it was in. A bomb went off and killed him. I’m sure you wouldn’t have wanted to see him like that, either, and in an effort not to go off on you, Teresa, I want you to go. I don’t have time for your insults. I’m going through—”

  I stood and darted my finger at her. “I don’t give a damn what you’re going through, and if you’re so damn hurt, why are you laying on your back with a low-life, broke nigga’s dick in you? That damn well won’t lift your spirits. I intend to get to the bottom of all of this, and when I do, you and Stephen are going to pay for lying to me. As for leaving, I’m not leaving until I see my grandson. What in the hell have you done with him?”

  I stormed away from Ina to go to Joshua’s bedroom. The door was closed, and when I flung it open, he was not there. His room, however, was neater than I had ever seen it. His bed was neatly made, his trophies were on display, the carpet was clean, and his multiple pairs of tennis shoes were lined up against the wall.