~~~~~~
At supper Trevor almost got us kicked out of the restaurant for ordering pizza and having it delivered to our table. We were eating at a high dollar steak house…needless to say the owner made it very clear that Trevor was never to step foot back in his establishment. Corrina was put on the ‘As long as you don’t try to bring that thing with you!’ list. The owner told her as he glared with distaste at Trevor that was shoving a bite of pizza in his mouth.
“Go away! You’ll get to see her tomorrow after we get back from our spa treatment!” Corrina shoved Trevor back and pulled me into the elevator before he could ride up with us. “He is a pain in the ass, a five year old acts better than he does.”
“He’s fun though and, easy on the eyes!” I told her.
She snorted, “Yes, trust me I know.”
I narrowed my eyes at her but didn’t say anything else. Knowing Corrina, after a few drinks she would spill the truth about what was going on between them.
“I’m going to shower then go to bed, what time does our day start tomorrow?” I asked then yawned.
“Ten o’clock sharp! Meni’s, Pedi’s, waxing--we are getting the works.” She beamed.
“Okay, night. Love you.”
“Love you too.” We hugged each other then went our separate ways.
While I was showering memories of living with Corrina after I moved out from Justin began flashing through my mind. It was like I was standing back looking at myself, watching myself fall apart until Dominique came into my life. Even the memories of him made my entire body tingle. I shut the water off and got out, those were days that I would never get back and so much had changed that neither of us were the same people we were just a couple of years ago.
Lying in bed I waited for the memories to stop, I rolled onto my stomach and tucked my hands under the pillow and closed my eyes. That night I dreamed about Dominique being in bed with me, tracing my skin with his fingers and smiling when tiny goose bumps dotted my body. “I want to do so many things to you all you have to do is open up to me Lennie.” He whispered before bowing his head slowly licking around one nipple. “Your body wants me, your mind wants me—you’re the only one stopping me. You know I can make you feel amazing.”
“LENNIE!” Corrina was in the dream too? “WAKE UP!” my eyes snapped open just before she pounced on the bed. “We need to leave soon.” She laid down beside me. “Did you sleep good?”
I yawned and stretched, “Mmhmm, I need some coffee.”
“It’s waiting for you, I went to Starbucks…come on.” She sprung from the bed, “I’m not buying another one if this one gets cold. I guess I could just drink it…” she laughed when I threw the covers off and glared at her.
~~~~~~
The day flew by in a blur of appointments to prepare us for the night at the museum.
I had chose to wear a full length form fitting halter top dress paired with my black Louis Vuitton black high heels that had small silver accents on them. My hair was braided with the length hanging over the front of my shoulder.
When I walked out of the bedroom Trevor was looking in the refrigerator, “How do you look like you do with as much as you eat?” I asked.
He leaned back and looked around the door, “I’m looking for her next…holy fuck you look hot!” he said and his eyes got big.
“You’re looking for what?” I asked.
“I forgot…Jesus Lennie you’re on fire tonight.” He motioned for me to turn around. “There’s no back to that dress!”
I smiled at him, “I’m glad it looks good, I wasn’t sure how I would like it.”
He shook his head, “You look amazing.”
Corrina walked out of her room wearing a silver dress that had one sleeve that hung off her shoulder and a tiny strap holding the other side up. “Ready?” she asked with a smile.
I watched Trevor to see his reaction, he looked her over his jaw muscle ticked then he nodded his head.
“You look great!” We both said to each other at the same time.
Trevor held the door open for us, “I’m the luckiest man on the planet tonight.”
~~~~~~
At the museum people milled around talking and looking at the amazing artifacts on display. Corrina was beaming with pride as she talked with people about everything new that had been bought for display.
“Sooo, why do I get the vibe you and Corrina are failing to tell me something about you guys?” I asked Trevor.
“Dance with me?” He said with a grin and didn’t give me a chance to protest.
“You avoided my question.”
“Nothing is going on between us, she’s too bratty.” He said with a grin.
“I don’t believe a single word of that Trevor.”
He winked and spun me around, I couldn’t help but smile. I had missed being around happy go lucky people.
As one song faded and another started playing a tall handsome guy walked up to us and asked if he could cut in. Trevor narrowed his eyes, “I’m watching you.” He even added to the dramatics by pointing his fingers from his eyes to the guy.
“I noticed you the very second you walked in, I’m Eli Archer.”
“Lennie Hudson.” saying my maiden name still sounded strange to me. I smiled at him, his eyes were a beautiful caramel color with green starburst running through them.
We danced to ‘Royals’, Eli was a fantastic dancer and never let his hands stray past my waist as he twirled me and waltzed me around the small dance area. After the song was over we walked over to where the bar was set up.
While we sipped on our drinks we talked about my work and his part in the museum. He travelled the world going to auctions and clients houses buying new displays. We danced a few more times until I finally told him that my feet were screaming for me to stop. For the first time in a while I felt at ease and comfortable being around so many people. When he asked for my phone number I didn’t even have to think twice about sharing it with him.
“I’ll be in town next week maybe we could have dinner?” he asked.
“Well, I’m not from here. I live in Fair Lawn, New Jersey.” I told him.
He smiled, “I’m actually going to be close to there in a couple of weeks, what do you say I give you a call and we can spend the day getting to know each other a little more?”
“I think I’d like that.”
An elderly couple walked up to him and started talking to him so I excused myself to go use the bathroom.
As I was walking back from using the restroom, Trevor was standing against a pillar talking on his phone. When I walked behind him, I reached down and pinched the lower part of his ass cheek causing him to jump and start rubbing the spot. “Here, I need to take a piss.” He said to me as he handed me his phone.
At first when I said hello and nobody responded I thought the caller had hung up, then I heard his voice. Dominique’s deep raspy voice flowed through me, my heart started thumping hard and my body started to tingle. I remembered that Corrina told me he was in Texas seeing his girlfriend. The conversation wasn’t long between us and hopefully his girlfriend didn’t get mad that Trevor had put me on the phone.
“That was shady.” I glared at Trevor and handed him his phone.
“Aww don’t be mad,” he put his arm around my shoulders, “You two have a ton of shit you need to talk about someday.”
I nodded, “I know.”
Before the three of us left, I found Eli and told him that I would be expecting a phone call in a couple of weeks. “You can bet you’ll be hearing from me before then.” He leaned down and kissed my cheek.
“Okay,” I smiled, “Thank you for the fun evening.” I gave him a small wave then had to rush so I could catch up with Corrina and Trevor.
The drive back to their building took longer because Trevor wouldn’t stop giving the cab driver different addresses to go to.
“Stop listening to him! He’s drunk for fuck’s sake!” Corrina yelled at the driver. Then looke
d at Trevor, “The next address better be for a booty call because I’m pushing you out, I won’t even care if the car is still moving.”
Trevor laughed, “Booty call, that’s a great idea!” he pulled his phone out and started scrolling through his call log. Before he could dial anybody Corrina yanked his phone out of his hands and screamed under her breath. “As much as I’d love to know that you humiliated yourself because you’re too drunk to even find your love pump, I do not want to see another one of your conquests doing the walk of shame in the morning.”
“Love pump?” he asked.
Corrina rolled her eyes, “Idiot.” She mumbled.
That was by far the funniest argument I had ever heard and couldn’t help but laugh until my sides were cramping.
It took almost thirty minutes to get Trevor to his apartment because he kept stopping and talking to anybody that walked toward us. His cell phone rang as we got on the elevator.
“Yeah, I’ll leave it unlocked. See you in a bit.” He smiled at Corrina and me. She however looked like she wanted to claw his eyes out.
“Should we make sure he get’s to his room?” I said as he staggered down the hallway.
“He’s fine. He’s REALLY not going to like me in the morning.” Corrina gave me a smile.
“What are you going to do to him?”
“Just wait and see.” She said in a singsong voice.
~~~~~~
I couldn’t believe that I had slept past eleven the following morning, I got out of bed and went into the bathroom. After brushing my teeth and taking care of business I put on a pair of yoga capri’s and a t-shirt. Just as I sat down at the kitchen island with a nice hot mug of coffee Corrina walked through the door. “You ready to see this?” she had a mischievous smile on her face.
“Can I have some coffee first?”
“Nope come on.” She motioned for me to follow her. I gulped down a couple sips of coffee before slipping on a pair of her flip-flops and catching up with her.
“Where are we going?” I asked then realized we were going up one floor to Trevor’s.
The elevator dinged then the doors whooshed open, I looked down the hall and there stood, “A clown?” I asked.
“Oh it’s not just A clown, it’s remote controlled, motion activated and has a go pro hidden behind the wig.” She looked at me and wiggled her eyebrows, “Trevor is deathly afraid of clowns, scream like a little girl scared of them!”
“Corrina, that’s just mean.” I told her hoping she would stop.
“You have no idea what it’s like to get out of bed and step on a floor covered in sticky and snappy mouse traps.” She deadpanned.
“Oh…” I wasn’t sure what to say.
Trevor’s apartment was in the middle of the hallway, we situated ourselves at the end of the hall opposite of the elevators. Before I could ask why, Corrina informed me it was so she could grab the camera and run like hell after Trevor punched the clown. She pulled her cell phone out, “Hey I’m locked out and Lennie isn’t answering her phone, can you come unlock my door please? But I have to pee Trevor, pretty please?” she whined while trying not to laugh. “Thanks, bye.” She put her phone in her purse that was looped across her chest and pulled out a remote control. With the little green light on we waited for him to open his door. As soon as the door handle clicked Corrina moved the clown forward. Trevor actually walked right into it before he realized what it was, the sounds that came from him couldn’t even be described as a scream. It was a high octave yelping screech, followed by numerous cuss words as the clown moved toward him more. He continued to shriek and yelp while cussing before the clown was lying on it’s back in the hallway. “Go…go!” Corrina pushed me. The clown’s wheel’s that were hidden in the shoes were spinning and Trevor was kicking at it when I ran past his door. I looked over my shoulder at Corrina, she was frantically grabbing the camera that was attached to a headband but she tripped over one of the arms. She scurried to her feet and started to run again, I turned to run and slammed into a solid chest so hard I flew back and knocked Corrina down with me. We were both laughing so hard we could hardly breathe; I rolled onto my side crying with laughter. Suddenly she wasn’t laughing anymore, when I looked at her she was staring at somebody standing over us. “Utoh.” She snorted out.
I looked up and there stood Dominique, an amused look on his face but clearly confused. Then Trevor appeared standing above our heads, “You!” he pointed at Corrina, then he bent over and grabbed her under her arms making her stand up.
“Put me down you goon!” she pounded her fists into his back but he didn’t stop. He walked into his apartment and slammed the door…the lock clicked with finality.
I pursed my lips, I was still on the floor trying not to look at Dominique. He held his hand out for me, I hesitated for a second before placing my hand in his. The same familiar heat was like it always had been with him. “Thanks.” I straightened my shirt and slipped the flip flop back on that had fallen off when I run into Dominique.
He smiled, “I can’t wait to hear about this one.” Dominique nodded at the clown.
“I was an innocent bystander.” I held my hands up in defense.
There was an awkward silence, “I’m guessing you don’t want to go in there, you can come hang out at her place until the smoke has cleared, if you want.” I said nervously.
Dominique chuckled, “You’re probably right.”
The walk to the elevator and the ride down one floor was silent between us. When we got back to her apartment I hurried back to the bathroom to check myself in the mirror. After fixing my ponytail and blotting on some lip-gloss I walked out to the living room. Dominique was staring out the large windows that overlooked the Chicago skyline. “You know, I have tried to think of what I would say to you in person for the last two years.” He said but didn’t turn to look at me.
“Dominique, I know it’s not enough but I truly am sorry.” Lennie said.
I couldn’t look at her yet, I shook my head and pushed my hands deep inside my pockets, “No, that line should have came about a year ago.” I turned around and finally looked at her. “Last night I was with my girlfriend, Hannah, she’s a pretty amazing person.”
“I’m glad you found somebody else that can…” Lennie started to reply but I interrupted her.
“She’s so amazing she told me I needed to come talk to you, my girlfriend told me to leave her to come talk to you. Then she told me that we should just be friends.”
“I’m so sorry,” she looked at the ground. “I was surprised to hear your voice.”
“Oh trust me, it was a big fucking surprise to me too when I heard your voice over the phone. Especially since just minutes before that I was staring at pictures of you smiling and having fun.”
“I don’t know what you want me to say, I’ve wanted to call you!” Lennie and I were standing only a couple of feet away from each other.
“You could start from the beginning, Leenie. You could tell me why you fucking pushed me away, knowing that I loved you and would never have hurt you.”
“Do you really want to talk about this right now? No, ‘Hey Lennie how have you been?’, you just want to jump feet first into this conversation?” she snapped at me.
“Fuck yes I do, I think I deserve some long overdue answers!” I stated firmly.
“Okay, the truth…” she took a deep breath and blew it out before continue. “The truth is, I loved you too and I was scared, like you said. I was scared that some how, me being married and going through a divorce would look bad for you. You’re Dominique Hasting’s for crying out loud—The Destroyer! My life was spiraling out of control and I couldn’t stop it, the man that I thought would never in a million years hurt me…threatened to fucking kill me! I didn’t want you to have to deal with my mess, you deserved somebody that could spend time with you and not have to be in counseling for months with hopes that they would someday be able to have a normal life again.” She wiped tears from her face. “You
could snap your fingers and have any woman you want…”
“Except for the one I want!” I interrupted her. “The one I wanted and loved didn’t trust me, wouldn’t talk to me, the one I wanted and loved made up my mind for me!” my anger started increasing. “Then the one I wanted and loved, the one I would have moved mountains for…gutted me. For two fucking years I could have had any woman I wanted, but none of them were you. I compared every fucking woman to you because I loved you.”
“You found Hannah thought, you can love her Dominique!” Lennie said between sobs.
I closed the distance between us and cupped her face in my hands, “NO, I can’t love her. Because I still for some god damn reason love you.” My anger went away when her face was resting against my chest her tears seeping through my shirt dampening the skin of my chest.
“I’m not the same, you can’t love me.” She sobbed.
“I think you should let me make up my own mind, your decision making skills aren’t the best.” I told her. She laughed and hiccupped with a cry.
“We can’t just pick up where we left off, we need to get to know each other. I really have changed…and you have a girlfriend.” Lennie tried to push away from me.
I bent down so I could look in her eyes, the beautiful green pools were filled with fear and hurt, “No, what I have is a friend that wants me to be happy. She wants me to fall in love because I can’t stop myself, not because it’s what everybody wants me to do.”
In the perfect world we would ride off into the sunset and live out our happy ever after. This isn’t the perfect world though and I knew that Lennie needed time to process everything.
“How can you still love me and want to be with me, Dominique?”
I dropped my hands from her face, placed them on her shoulders and caressed her skin until I was holding both of her hands in mine. “I don’t know honestly. But I’ve tried to forget about you, I thought I could move on—thought I had,” I lifted our joined hands and kissed her knuckles, “I do still love you and I hope that you still love me. The letter was exactly how I feel.”
Love Again Page 20