Open Door Marriage

by Kai, Naleighna

  “That was a private conversation—in my bedroom.”

  “In my house,” Tori countered.

  “His house. His name is on the deed,” Alicia shot back. “Let’s talk about the real reason you’re so pissed off. Your plan for bringing me here backfired.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Tori said, turning her attention back to her preparation.

  “Why’re you hanging on to him?” Alicia asked in a sad tone. “Dallas has clearly made a choice. It’s not fair, but at some point reality has to rent out some of your brain space since it’s obvious you’ve evicted common sense.”

  “If he didn’t want me, I wouldn’t still be in his life,” Tori snarled.

  Alicia stared at Tori, wondering how her niece could be so clueless.

  “I’m not giving up on Dallas,” Tori said, going back to the sink. “The old me is stepping in and taking over from now on. He wants me to cook. I’ll cook. He wants me to fuck … then I’ll spread it wide and let him go deep.” She looked up, as though mulling over a bright idea. “Isn’t it normally the other way around? Men trade in for a younger model of the woman they married. Something must be truly mixed up in his head.”

  Alicia sighed, settling in to humor Tori for another round of bitching and moaning.

  Tori snatched up the dish towel and dried off an area of counter space. “You really want to know why I’m sticking it out?”

  Alicia didn’t bother to answer—she knew how this would go. She could walk from room to room, but Tori was like a stalker. Even with the door closed it was hard to tune her out if she was trying to make a point.

  “Do you know what it felt like when those people came to pull me out of class? They told me the tuition check bounced. Bounced! Like we were some low-life ghetto people! Who does that?” she yelled, then took a few seconds to rein in her emotions. “We had lost everything. Ev-er-y-thing! But Daddy didn’t tell me because he didn’t want me to worry.” Tori let go of a bitter laugh and began cutting up more vegetables. “What did he think was going to happen when they didn’t get their damn money? That my good looks were going to cover the balance?” Tori’s eyes teared up to the point that Alicia feared she would chop off her fingers as she whacked away at the celery.

  “All of a sudden we were poor. No house, no cars, nothing! I had to skip a semester because it was too late to get a grant or apply for student loans. Daddy had saved for years so that I wouldn’t start my life out in debt,” she said in a low tone. “I was so embarrassed.”

  Alicia yawned softly, but it seemed that Tori took no notice. Instead she put a low fire under the skillet to sauté the onions.

  “Then, Dallas,” Tori said, her voice breaking with the effort it took not to cry. “I didn’t even tell him what had happened. One of my classmates was spreading my money problems around school.” She looked up at Alicia. “I had no one. No one to talk to. And somehow, Dallas came in, and he made everything all right.” The tears came and for a moment, Alicia’s heart went out to her niece.

  “You left me!” Tori screamed, pointing the knife at Alicia. “You left me for a whole damn year!”

  Finally! The real source of the issue between them.

  “What happened to family first?” The pain in Tori’s voice was enough to make Alicia’s heart constrict. “You didn’t call. You didn’t write,” she sobbed. “While you were off cavorting in Africa and Spain and Tibet and wherever the hell else you went …You left me … you selfish bitch!” Alicia moved forward reaching out to touch Tori, but froze when her niece’s expression hardened. “And when you finally come back, you take the one thing that matters to me. Because you needed some dick more than you loved me.”

  Tori turned her attention to meal prep and began hacking a knife into the Andouille sausage. Evidently, she forgot that Dallas had said he was removing pork from his diet, too. “Everything will be fine as long as you keep your word.”

  “Keep my word?” Alicia asked.

  “You’ll leave during the wedding ceremony,” Tori replied, looking up from her latest victim. “You do remember that you promised to do that.”

  Alicia wanted to tell her that she never said that, but what would be the point? It was clear that Tori was never going away. So, she would have to do it. Since Dallas didn’t want to make the decision, and Tori wouldn’t make the decision, she would. This was a wrap!

  “You know what, I’ll oblige you,” Alicia said. “Dallas won’t be home for another few hours. I’ll pack my things and be gone by the time he gets back.”

  Tori gave Alicia the first real smile of the evening. “Finally, you see things my way.”

  * * *

  Dallas walked into the corridor leading to the living room, the sound of DMX’s “Y’all Gon’ Make Me Lose My Mind Up In Here” hit him the moment he had stepped over the threshold. That was never a good sign. He felt the strange vibes emanating in the house, and kept moving until he reached the kitchen. Dallas was shocked to see Tori at the stove putting the finishing touches on what looked to be shrimp Creole—a dish he couldn’t eat since he wasn’t into scavengers. He had asked Alicia to prepare a steak, her garlic mashed potatoes, and whatever vegetable she’d like to throw in. Her bread pudding and Jack Daniels sauce was going to be the perfect end to the meal. So why was Tori in the kitchen instead of Alicia? And why was she slashing through a bell pepper as if it had done her wrong?

  “Where’s Alicia?” he asked.

  Tori flinched, her eyes widened in shock, then she frowned. “In her room. She wanted to be alone.”

  Dallas placed the two packages he carried onto the counter, then whirled around and aimed in the direction of the guest bedroom.

  “Damn it, Dallas! Give her some space!” Tori screamed, causing him to freeze in his tracks.

  He turned around and walked back to Tori. “What’s wrong with you?”

  “Nothing,” she said in a softer tone. She slid the pieces of tomato into a pot. “I just want us to have a nice, quiet dinner. Alone. That’s all.” She cornered the counter and was in front of him in a matter of seconds. “I’ve been thinking; it’s New Year’s Eve, time for new beginnings. Let’s forget about the wedding. Let’s hit Vegas and get married,” she whispered, gripping the edge of his Polo shirt. “Or we can have a private ceremony right here and just do the damn thing.”

  It hurt his heart that Tori was still thinking about marriage when he’d promised Alicia that he was going to end this.

  “That’s not a good idea,” he said.

  “Why not?”

  Dallas didn’t feel the need to go into all of it again. The bottom line—he loved Alicia, not Tori. No other explanations were necessary.

  “I need to go to Alicia.” He pivoted to get out of the kitchen.

  “Wait!” she yelled and he froze at the threshold. “Now might not be the best time to talk with her.”

  Dallas bore down on Tori. “What the hell did you do?”

  “I didn’t do anything,” she protested, but her ears had reddened and she shrank back.

  He shook his head. Something was definitely wrong and he hurried toward Alicia’s bedroom to repair whatever damage Tori had caused.

  Chapter 32

  New Year’s Eve

  7:32 p.m.

  Dallas stood in the doorway in shock, watching Alicia gently place her things into the suitcase. She looked at the clock beside her bed and hurried back to the closet.

  “You were going to leave without saying anything,” he whispered. “Again.”

  She jumped, and the garment in her hands slipped to the floor. “I would have said something eventually.” Alicia bent down to pick up the clothing, then waggled a finger in his direction. “I am not spending another night in this place.”

  “Come here,” he said softly.

  “No! No more of that,” she snapped, waving him off. “I overstayed my welcome the day I walked through the door, and you know it.” She reached for her toiletries and situated th
em in compartments along the sides of her case. “And I’m telling you, that I’m this close,” she snapped her fingers, “to slapping the cow-walking bullshit of that girl.”

  Dallas had never seen Alicia this angry. And as much as he wanted to talk with her, she needed to let off every bit of steam she had.

  “There’s a lot you don’t know about me.” Alicia folded a floral blouse neatly and placed it on the top layer of garments. “And I try, I really try to do right.”

  “I know,” he said in a patient tone.

  “Dallas, I love you. And, I thought I could wait until after the holidays for you to do this, but I’m beginning to feel like …” She grimaced, pausing to come up with the words. When she looked up at him, his heart constricted. “I don’t feel safe. I don’t feel safe outside of my home with the paparazzi and the public. And, I don’t even feel safe in my own home. I never know when Tori is going to go off.” She struggled to hold back her tears. “Dallas … loving you is costing me more than I’m willing to pay.”

  Dallas cracked his neck right then left, forcing his mouth to stay closed behind that hurtful admission.

  “You can’t be with me all the time. And I’ll tell you one thing.” She stopped and looked at him, her eyes flashing with something he couldn’t name. “When people push me too far, I might do something that they won’t live to regret.”

  Dallas thought back to when she told him how she had done some damage to a couple of family members who were trying to hurt her. He had no misconceptions that she couldn’t back up her threat, especially since she had been only too ready to give Bernice a “Sicilian smile” last year.

  “Living in this house, Dallas … in her space … it’s opened up a place in me that wants to fight, and I don’t mean fight fair either. I don’t like what I’m becoming. And if I stay here, she’s going to say the wrong thing, and I’m going to do the wrong thing, and we’ll all end up someplace we don’t want to be.”

  Dallas went to her, curling her into his arms. “I have someplace else you can go.”

  “I’m going home,” she answered simply. “Back to Chicago and I’m kicking Bernice out of my house for the last time. James forgave her for Tori’s sake. But I’m not married to her, so I don’t have to be that considerate. She has to go, and James can go with her.”

  Dallas shrugged, nodding as if her talk of leaving him didn’t matter. “Okay, I’ll go with you, but if you don’t mind, we’ll need to make one little stop on the way,” he said. “Besides, you’re in no condition to drive.”

  Her head whipped to him. “How do you figure that?”

  Dallas gestured to the empty bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label and the glass sitting right next to it on the nightstand. “I didn’t know you drank like that.”

  One hand slid up on her hip as she glared at him. “I don’t. But with what that little heifer’s been putting me through? You’d better be glad I haven’t polished off the whole damn bottle!”

  Dallas extracted his hand from her waist, dove into her bed and lifted the bottle. A tiny bit of liquid pooled on one side. He raised an eyebrow.

  “Well, corners count,” she shot back, grimacing. “I didn’t finish the whole thing.” She looked at the painting she had done of him. He smiled at the fact that her gaze lingered where the towel covered his prized package.

  “That house on Pernell that you loved so much?” he said, and she turned to look at him. “I put a solid offer on it today.” He opened his hand. “I paid a little more so we could live there while the paperwork’s getting done.”

  Alicia looked down at the keys sitting in the center of his palm, then smiled up at him. “When did you get these?”

  “Four hours ago.” Dallas grinned. “And then I went shopping. A Heavenly Bed is waiting in your master bedroom and a Sleep Number bed is in the guest room. Your choice on where we spend tonight. We’ll bring in the New Year the right way.”

  Alicia practically did a little skip and snatched the keys. “Now you’re talking my language!”

  He grabbed her suitcase and began to wheel it out of the room. She paused in the hallway, then ran back into the room and reached up to take her painting from the wall.

  Dallas returned to the room. “Baby, we can get this next time.”

  “I don’t want anything to happen to it. I can always get new clothes, but I can’t get another—”

  “Me?” Dallas cut in. “Don’t you forget it.” He winked and shifted so he could lift the artwork from its anchors.

  “I meant painting,” she added, giving him a playful punch. “You’re so arrogant.”

  “But you love me, right?”

  She looked up at him and whispered, “Yes, I love you.”

  Dallas leaned down and puckered up. Alicia smiled before she obliged him with a kiss.

  He shifted the canvas in his hands. “You might have to do another one of these. This time, I’ll take your advice and … drop the towel.”

  “You are so, so bad.”

  Dallas grinned, taking that as a compliment, but then he was serious again as he told her, “I’m ending things with Tori for good tonight. I decided I just can’t wait until May.”

  “What made you decide to do it now?” she asked softly.

  “My father. My real father. After talking to him, I realize that I want a real life, a traditional relationship. What I’ve been doing is not right and not good for Tori ... or for you.” He set the painting down on the bed and signaled for her to come closer, which she did. “Tori’s marrying me out of some misguided sense of ownership. And I was marrying her out of obligation. I shouldn’t function like that.”

  “That’s why I was going to leave. Because no one should function that way. And, I was done playing her game.” Alicia cupped his face in her hands. “You say you’re done with her, then be done for real. Or you’ll need to be finished with me. You can’t keep playing both ends against the middle.”

  Dallas extended his hand to her, and she clasped it. “I hear you, baby. Let’s go break in our new house.”

  Chapter 33

  January 3—4:02 p.m.

  Dallas walked into the Maverick’s locker room and was greeted with a round of curious looks and stares. He trekked across the royal blue carpet, ignoring his teammates until he reached his personal space. Each locker was decked out with a stereo system, a 20-inch flat screen television, a bench and private storage and shelving space.

  The team robe hung on a hook in his locker, and he undressed and slipped into it so that he could take a few minutes to meditate before going into warm up.

  Dallas had been blessed to have two years with the Lakers, where he racked up a couple of championship rings. But the egos on that team made playing the game a chore. The moment he had a chance to trade out, he signed with the fourth wealthiest team in the franchise, but it was also one that had a lot to prove. His plan was to accumulate as much wealth as quickly as possible, then retire at thirty-two, while his body was still in prime condition, so he could spend the rest of his life doing whatever he wanted, including going back to get his degree and raising a family.

  Dallas closed his eyes and took a long, slow breath. Clearing his mind, he envisioned the members of the opposing team. He let a few details from the pre-game prep tapes that Coach Kimbrough showed them earlier in the day run through his memory.

  “Yo, man, what’s up?”

  Dallas opened his eyes to find that Steve, the team’s forward, was leaning on the partition that separated their spaces.

  “Nothing much,” he answered and closed his eyes.

  “So um, how was your weekend, big man?” Steve asked with a mild chuckle.

  Dallas opened his eyes again to find Roberts standing next to Steve and grinning widely before he cut a look across the locker room at a freckled-faced Collins, who had an eyebrow raised.

  Dallas answered, “All right.”

  “You sure man? Nothing … special?” he asked, and his tone was taunting.


  Dallas looked around. Most of the team was tuned in to the conversation in his corner of the locker room. Even pigeon-toed McGushin had stepped out of the wet room and stood at the door. Only the whirring sounds of the hot tub broke the eerie silence.

  Dallas peered at the men standing before him. “Man, what’s your major malfunction? You know what I like to do before a game.”

  “So you’re really sticking it to that …” Morrison swept a sly glance across the rest of the team, “hot piece of cougar ass?”

  Guffaws and peals of laughter echoed, and Dallas felt his temperature spike. He remained silent to get his anger in check. Locker room disputes could carry them into a losing game. Dallas closed his eyes and tried to tune them out.

  “Come on, tell us man,” Roberts said, waving a glossy magazine page in front of Dallas’ eyes. It was a side-by-side image of Tori and Alicia. “What’s it like rocking two fine ass women like that?”

  “Shit, the Vet looks better than the young chick,” Morrison said, laughing.

  “And they live in the same house?” Smith shook his pointy head. “Damn, even I couldn’t be that bold.”

  “Peep this, they’re in the same family, too!” Thompson chuckled.

  “You doing them at the same time, man?” Morrison teased. “Now that’s some kinky shit right there.”

  “Listen up,” Dallas growled, standing so he was toe-to-toe with Morrison. “My personal life is not up for discussion with anybody. That’s my private business.”

  Eaves held up the latest edition of Us Weekly. “Not anymore. Lots of good stuff here, man,” he said, flipping the pages, then reaching underneath the mag he held and passing a copy of Maxim to Roberts. “That right there must’ve been an inside job.”