Save the Best for Last

by Bettye Griffin

  In desperation, she tried her last advantage. “Barry, I hoped I wouldn’t have to say this, but you leave me no choice. I don’t want to marry you. So why are you doing this?”

  “Because I know what’s best for you.”

  She stared at him incredulously. She’d never seen this side of him before, determined to the point of being totally unreasonable. She’d known Barry for months. Dexter had met him for about five minutes and said Barry just wanted a young wife to make combat his fear of growing old. She believed Dexter’s instincts were dead on.

  But right now Barry was waiting for her reply. She’d gotten both herself and Dexter involved in a dangerous situation. For now she had to play ball. She could always reverse her decision later, after she’d had a chance to think and discuss it with Dexter. He was about to earn a law degree. He would probably know how to handle Barry’s threats.

  “All right,” she said reluctantly. “I’ll talk to him.”

  He leaned back, a triumphant grin on her face. “It’s showtime. Now you’ll get to see what he’s really made of.” He snickered. “Once he realizes his future is at stake, his resolve will be as strong as a piece of notepaper. He’s already gotten what he wanted out of you.”

  She couldn’t bear his insinuation that Dexter was only out for what he could get from her. It was true that he hadn’t had much time for her since they’d become lovers, and while she wished that weren’t the case, she understood. He’d worked so hard all these years; it would be foolish for him to slack off with less than two months to go, with important final exams to prepare for. Dexter genuinely cared about her, something she’d known since the day she ended up in the emergency room, and she’d never believe otherwise, no matter what Barry said. But trying to explain that to Barry would only lead to questions she didn’t want to answer, so she could only say one thing. “I said I’ll talk to him, Barry,” she repeated sharply.

  Genevieve took a deep breath as she held and depressed the Four button on her cell phone. She’d have to arrange to meet Dexter. She couldn’t discuss a divorce with him over the phone.

  She didn’t want to ask him at all. She wanted to see where their burgeoning affair would lead, and she’d anticipated his completing his studies and launching his career.

  More than anything, she hoped he would agree to leave the Smith’s brownstone and move in with her. She wanted him with her. She wanted more nights like the two they spent together celebrating their triumphs over the INS.

  As incredible as it was, she’d fallen in love with Dexter Gray, the man to whom she was married.

  And now she had to tell him that she wanted to divorce him, because her gut told that if she didn’t, Barry would tip off the INS— anonymously, of course—and sacrifice Dexter just to get him out of her life. If that weren’t bad enough, Barry extended an invitation for her to spend Thanksgiving with him at a rented cabin in the Berkshires. “Remember, now I’m single,” he’d said with a leer.

  The thought of being alone in a mountain cabin with Barry—or with anyone other than the man she loved—nauseated her, but she felt she had no choice but to accept. She heard herself agreeing to go, even as she desperately tried to think of a way out. But how? Barry had already guessed how she’d gotten Dexter to marry her and was fully prepared to use that against him. Who knew what Barry would do if he learned that the marriage of convenience had involved intimacy on more than one occasion...and that she had fallen in love with Dexter?

  Genevieve answered her own question. Barry would probably sacrifice both of them, just for spite. Not only would Dexter’s long-held career goals collapse, but she would be deported and would never see him again. But if she went along with Barry’s wishes she could save Dexter and herself as well. The price tag for that would be hefty. Just as she feared, she’d sold out her future the moment she’d agreed to become Barry’s wife. It was as if she were being punished.

  She felt the familiar rumbling of discontent in her chest at the same moment Dexter’s phone began to ring, and he soon answered.

  “Hello, Dexter. It’s...Jenny.”

  “Hey! I tried to get you a little while ago.”

  “Oh. I was out. It was kind of noisy, with traffic and everything. I’m sorry I missed you.”

  “Are you all right? You sound funny.”

  “I’m all right. But I have to talk to you about something. Can you come over after work? I don’t mind it being late.”

  “I’ve got a better idea. It’s a madhouse in here today. They brought in half the neighborhood for breathing in toxic fumes. I’m not even in the M.E.’s office today. I got farmed out to work the E.R. But there was something I wanted to be talk to you about, as well. Why don’t I take you to dinner tomorrow?”

  “What about work?”

  “I’ll say I’ve got a sore throat or something and leave early. Seven o’clock all right?”

  Dexter smiled as he hung up the phone. Jenny sounded awfully worried about something, and he had a pretty good idea what it was.

  That first time they’d made love had left her pregnant with their baby.

  Chapter 24

  Genevieve paid the taxi driver and entered the restaurant. She’d been only too happy to agree when Dexter suggested she meet him rather than him picking her up. She didn’t know how he’d react when she told him what Barry had said.

  The maitre d’ smiled at her and said, “Mrs. Gray?” Genevieve still had some difficulty associating Dexter’s surname with herself, especially with the title ‘Mrs.’ She hadn’t been addressed in that manner since the INS investigation. She responded affirmatively, and the maitre d’ said, “Mr. Gray is waiting. Please follow me.”

  She followed him to the back table where Dexter waited. She wasn’t familiar with this restaurant, and unlike the pub near his job, this place looked rather pricey. She hoped he could really afford to dine here, and that he knew he didn’t have to spend a fortune on lunch to impress her. An Applebee’s would’ve been fine, as long as she was with him.

  Dexter rose as she approached. “Thank you, Gianni,” he said, his eyes fastened on her.

  The maitre d’ pulled out a chair for Genevieve, then discreetly disappeared.

  Genevieve found she couldn’t take her eyes off Dexter. She couldn’t conceal her amazement at the transformation. The curly spirals had been cut down by a good four inches and was now close to his head on the sides, a little fuller on top, with barely a trace of curl left. Gone were all traces of his trademark five o’clock shadow. And he wore a suit, a beautifully tailored charcoal gray with faint light-colored pinstripes; a pale gray shirt with white collar, and a black-and-white tie with a matching silk hanky in his breast pocket. She could hardly believe it was him. He’d gone from merely handsome to drop-dead gorgeous, and he looked every inch the successful attorney.

  “Dexter, you look wonderful,” she said simply.

  “Thanks. So do you. I see you changed your hair, too.”

  Genevieve ran a hand over her newly relaxed hair, worn loose with a side part, bangs brushed to the side, and slightly fuller at the crown. “Livvy told me the name of the salon where her sister works. I wanted a change.” She chuckled. “We both look like different people. Are you getting ready for job interviews?”

  “More than that. I had an offer.”

  For the first time she noticed the champagne bottle and the silver ice bucket on the table, and her mouth dropped open in happy surprise. “Dexter! You’ve been hired!”

  “I took the day off to go in and sign the offer. I’ll be starting right after the first of the year. It’s a great firm, Jenny. Not a bunch of ambulance chasers, a legal group with real prestige. And they were my first choice. Let me tell you about it.”

  They took time out to order dinner and sip champagne as they discussed his new employer.

  “I’m sorry,” he said just after her entrée and his dessert—he’d ordered a Napoleon—arrived. “I almost forgot. You had something you wanted to tell me.”
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  “Why are you smiling?”

  “Isn’t it good news?”

  “No.”

  “Something you think I’ll be unhappy about?”

  “I don’t have to think. I know you’ll be unhappy.”

  He decided this fishing had gone on long enough. “Aren’t you pregnant?”

  “Pregnant? Good heavens, no!”

  He felt an odd sense of disappointment. He’d been so sure...“Then what is it?”

  “Barry wants me to divorce you.”

  “What!”

  “He says there’s still a chance the INS will find out why we got married.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Jenny, did you tell him you paid my tuition?”

  “No,” she said, fervently shaking her head. “He figured it out. Remember, Stan and Brenda are his friends. They shared with him that they thought you’d be leaving because of a lack of funds. “He actually spoke to his lawyers about us, Dexter.”

  “Son-of-a—”

  “Dexter, I’ve got a bad feeling about this. Barry’s in network news, a real dog-eat-dog business, and he doesn’t like to lose. Remember how one of the channels bragged that they would be the first to interview the man who rescued those kids from that fire? All of a sudden the man switched to another network and left the original people with egg on their face.” At his nod, she continued. “Well, it was Barry’s network he went to, and I believe Barry had everything to do with it. That situation only resulted in his professional rivals being publicly embarrassed. The repercussions for us could be much worse. I can’t be sure he’s not above tipping off the INS, have his legal team move in to shield me and simultaneously have you arrested for defrauding the government.”

  Dexter’s right hand inadvertently formed a fist as he took in her words. “Forget about what Barry might do, at least for the moment. How do you feel about his request?” His eyes met hers. “Do you want to stay married to me, Jenny?”

  She looked into the eyes of the man she loved and answered without hesitation. “Yes. I don’t want a divorce, Dexter. You and I are just getting to know each other. I’m enjoying it. You just don’t know how much.” Her eyes filled with tears.

  He took her hand across the table. “I’m so sorry I didn’t see you last night. I had no idea, but if I had known what you were dealing with I would have come to you right away.”

  She smiled. “Like you did that day I got knocked down.”

  “Exactly like that.”

  “But what are we going to do? Dexter, if I don’t play ball with him he’ll turn us in, I just know it.”

  He kissed the back of her hand. “Don’t worry about anything, Jenny. I’ll take care of it. And that’s a promise.”

  After dinner, they took a cab back to her condo. Z.L. had the night off, and Genevieve felt it was just as well. The doorman would be astounded by the change in Dexter’s appearance and would want to know all about it, and she didn’t feel like explaining.

  His reassurances did make her feel better, but she was concerned by Dexter’s lack of response to her declaration that she wanted to remain being his wife. He showed indisputable concern for the stress Barry had caused, but she needed to hear him say that he wanted to stay married to her as well. And she shouldn’t have to ask him. If he really cared, wouldn’t he tell her freely? Or were his feelings for her only related to her paying his tuition, like Barry had said?

  She closed her eyes tightly, not really believing that. Barry was just trying to discredit Dexter in her mind. But why hadn’t Dexter acknowledged her feelings? Was she about to experience what she’d tried to spare Barry, how it felt to love but not be loved in return?

  “Dinner was lovely, Dexter,” she said when they were inside her apartment and he was slipping her coat off her shoulders.

  “Tonight wasn’t just to tell you the good news. It was to say thank you. This wouldn’t be happening if it weren’t for you, at least not this soon. I want you to know, Jenny, you’re the first one I’ve shared the news with. My grandparents don’t even know yet. I’ll call them tomorrow.”

  She felt his arms encircle her waist from behind, breathed in the subtle scent of the pleasant but unfamiliar cologne he’d worn to meet with his future employer. It stung that he hadn’t expressed any feelings for her, but she was powerless to resist his touch. No matter how emotionally exhausted she was at the moment, she always came alive in his arms.

  When his hands moved upward to fondle her breasts she couldn’t stand it anymore, and abruptly turned to face him. “Does that mean you want to stay married to me, Dexter? You weren’t exactly forthcoming when I poured my heart out to you at the restaurant.”

  His hand rose to cup her cheek and stroke the sensitive area just behind her earlobe. “I think we have something very special, Jenny, that’s only just beginning. I’m just as eager as you are to see where it leads us.”

  Relief flooded through her. “And you’re not just saying that because your hands were just on my boobs?” she asked playfully.

  He chuckled. “The truth is, as much as I enjoy making love to you, right now I’m too tired to do anything more than hold you.”

  “I’m tired, too. Come on,” she said, taking his hand. “Let’s go to bed.”

  Genevieve lay contentedly in Dexter’s arms in the center of the large bed. Whenever she’d previously had male company stay overnight with her, there’d been sex involved. This was a new experience for her, just going to bed and falling asleep. Nothing was better than sex, but this felt good. More than that, it felt right.

  He shifted in his sleep, his arm tightening around her shoulder. “You awake?” he murmured.

  “No,” she replied playfully.

  “I’m sorry I’m so tired. It’s been a busy couple of days. It’s going to be like this through finals, except for a little break for the holiday next week.”

  “It’s all right, Dexter.”

  “I love this bed,” he said sleepily. “It’s big enough where I don’t have to bend my knees. I don’t trust myself to wake up. Can you get me up by five-thirty? I need to get up to Harlem and change clothes before class.”

  “You’ve got some stuff here.”

  “I brought over the raggediest stuff I had. That’s why I left it here. Folded up, it doesn’t look bad. But I sure can’t wear it.”

  Within minutes he fell back to sleep.

  Genevieve’s alarm went off at five a.m. It was still dark out, and she shut the alarm off before he heard it. They’d become disentangled during the night, and he slept on his back perhaps a foot away from her.

  She snuggled up closer and reached down, fastening her palm around his limp penis and gently stroking it. He grunted in his sleep, and she felt the muscle transform against her hand.

  Impulsively she pushed the covers off of him and shifted, bringing her face to get up close and personal. She flicked her tongue up and down his hard length, and he half-spoke, half-moaned her name. She teased his tip with her tongue before taking him in her mouth. She could tell from Dexter’s movements and the sounds he made that he was fully awake now.

  “Ride me, baby,” he commanded.

  Already moist from arousal, she straddled him slowly, easing him inside her. Now it was her turn to cry out in pleasure. She leaned forward, bracing herself with flat palms, as Dexter’s hands held her hips steady and thrust upward. As their passion built to a crest he suddenly braced her back and rolled her over on her side, leaving her momentarily puzzled as he slipped out of her. When she felt something warm and sticky against her thigh she understood. She’d anticipated intimacy between them at some time during the night and inserted her diaphragm before going to bed. She didn’t exactly have an opportunity to tell him, and she thought it charming that even at the peak of his passion, he’d made an attempt to protect her.

  “Jenny, I’m going to my grandparents’ next weekend for Thanksgiving,” he said as he sat on the edge of the bed in that morning hesitation before the mental push of getting up an
d dressed for the day ahead. “We’ll be celebrating my new job, and I’d like you to come with me.”

  She swallowed hard. “Do you really think that’s wise?”

  “That we tell them we’re married? No. I’ll just tell them you’re my girlfriend.”

  She nodded. “In that case, I’d love to. Dexter...will I see you between now and then?”

  “I’m working at the lab this weekend, both days. But we’ll see each other, I promise.” He brought her hand to his lips. “And when I’m not with you, you can rest assured I’m thinking about you.” He gave her hand a squeeze before releasing it. “I’ll let myself out. Go back to sleep.”

  “I will. And Dexter?”

  “Hmm?”

  “I’m sorry about this whole thing with Barry.”

  “It’s not your fault, Jenny. If I hadn’t shown up that day the agents came here, he never would have known who I was. I told you I was going to take care of that. Promise me you won’t worry.”

  She shook her head. “I can’t, because I’d be lying.” Through the haze of sleep she remembered Barry and the Berkshires. She hadn’t mentioned that last night. “Dexter—”

  “Jenny, I’m sorry, but I’ve really got to run. We’ll talk later, huh?”

  Genevieve laid awake long after Dexter headed out. She’d just promised to go away with Dexter over Thanksgiving. Barry believed she was going with him to the Berkshires, something she’d always known she couldn’t go through with. The question was, when was she going to tell him? And what would he do when she did?

  “Have you told him yet?” Barry asked.

  Genevieve took a deep breath. “No, Barry, I haven’t. He received some very good news this week. I didn’t have the heart to put a damper on things for him.”

  “The sooner he gets things started, the sooner you and I can get married. It’s best that he do the filing.”