Imagined Love

  Jade was mesmerized by the gorgeous 3.0 carat, white gold princess cut diamond ring. She kept staring at it expecting to wake up from a wonderful dream!

  “I love you with every part of my being. And I’ve never been surer of anything than I am of you being the woman God made just for me. You’re such a beautiful person, Jade, inside and out. You’re smart and funny and you make me happier than I ever knew was possible.” Tears sprang to Pierce’s eyes, as he smiled at her sweetly. “For the first time in my life, I’m in love. So it’s without hesitation,

  doubt, or reservation that I ask you this. Jade Elise Caldwell, will you marry me?” It seemed like an eternity passed with her staring at him, not blinking or saying a word. “Jade? Baby? Did you hear me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Yes you heard me or yes you’ll marry me?”

  “Yes, I’ll marry you!” Jade screamed, as she fell to her knees in front of him. She threw her arms around Pierce and nearly knocked him over. He managed to lift them both to their feet with her kissing his face. “I can’t believe this! You really wanna marry me?”

  “Of course I wanna marry you, Jade! I’ve been looking for rings for months,” Pierce admitted.

  “Really?”

  “Yes, woman! Why do you seem so surprised? I knew you were the one for me the moment we met. But that night at the emergency room with Dane sealed the deal for me. I went looking for rings the very next day. Speaking of which, let me make this official.” Pierce took the ring out of the box and slid it on her finger. Then he kissed her hand. “You like it?”

  “Do I like it? Man, I love it! This ring is fabulous!” Jade screamed, jumping up and down. Then she held her hand out to get a good look at it. “I love you so much, Pierce, and I can’t wait to be your wife.” She kissed him.

  “Alright, girl, you about to get in trouble,” he smiled. “Oh, here I’ve got something else for you,” Pierce said then handed her an envelope.

  Jade thought when she and Pierce finally made love they’d be ripping each other’s clothes off in a frenzy. Instead, he undressed her slowly staring through her with those piercing eyes, arousing every one of her senses.

  “You’re so beautiful. I love you,” Pierce whispered, then proceeded to touch and taste every inch of Jade. The feel of his hands on her body was electric and his kiss intense. Before long she was pleading with Pierce to make love to her!

  “Yes, ma’am,” he replied with that sly smile she adored. Then Pierce loved Jade completely; mind, body, and soul. What she experienced with him was unlike anything she’d ever imagined or knew was possible. It was hard for Jade to comprehend how someone touching her for the first time could know so instinctively how to please her. Pierce seemed to anticipate her every need and desire and was able to fulfill each one of them. He introduced Jade to a whole new world of passion and any inhibitions she may have had before were left at the door! Her inner hoe was set free and Jade gave herself to Pierce completely without fear or hesitation. Something for which she was greatly rewarded—with that ever elusive orgasm!

  Jade didn’t know whether to cry, laugh, or scream so she did a little of each. Being able to climax multiple times after never having one at all was the most incredible thing to ever happen to her and she couldn’t get enough.

  “Wooooow,” Jade purred, as she stared at him with a look of wonder.

  “Wooooow back at you,” Pierce panted, as he lay on his back glistening with sweat. “That was amazing!”

  “Well, alright Butterscotch Thunder!” Jade laughed loudly. During one of their many midnight phone conversations Pierce told her if he ever became a stripper his stage name would be Butterscotch Thunder.

  Pierce cracked up laughing. “You are so crazy, you know that? I can’t believe you even remembered that mess,” he continued to laugh. “I’m surprised you didn’t add it to the list.”

  “What list?” Jade frowned.

  “The list of things you called me a little while ago . . . Captain America, DeJuan, mothafucka!” They both burst out laughing!

  “I’m so sorry, babe. All I can do is plead insanity,” Jade giggled. “I really did feel like I was out of my mind for a while there. I finally get what all the hype is about because that was phenomenal. I gotta give you your props, Butterscotch, you got mad skills. And now that you’ve unlocked my inner hoe, I’ma be all up on you!” she said then nestled up to him. “I just can’t believe how amazing this . . . well, I guess I don’t have to explain it to you, huh? You’ve probably felt this way millions of times and I’m just going on and on like a little newbie that . . .”

  “Whoa, what you mean I’ve felt like this a million times?” Pierce frowned, as he lifted his head to look at her.

  “You know what I’m saying, babe. I didn’t mean it offensively I’m just saying this is a new experience for me but I would imagine you’ve had plenty of women who made you feel like . . .”

  “Okay stop, stop,” Pierce interrupted, taking Jade’s face into his hands. “Baby, I’ve never felt like this! You hear me? I’ve never made love with my heart before, so trust me when I tell you this experience has been just as amazing and euphoric for me as it has been for you. So please stop underestimating yourself because the truth is, you almost did me in. That’s why I was doing all that damn snapping to distract myself from that monster you unleashed on me! Good LORD,” Pierce moaned. “Ego alone kept me holding on because I couldn’t bear the thought of disappointing you. I’m glad you came when you did, though, or I would’ve been on the moon all by myself,” he laughed. “The way you move . . . ooh, girl, you had a brotha delirious! I’ve never felt so out of control of myself and I could barely take it. If that was a boxing match you would’ve had me against the ropes the entire time. The headlines would’ve read, P. Jamison, K.O.’d in the first few seconds of the very first round!”

  “You so silly,” she smiled.

  “Seriously though, Jade, you’re an amazing lover and I feel honored that you loved and trusted me enough to surrender yourself and go buck wild. You are my perfect match, in every way and I’m hopelessly in love with you. Shoot, why do you think I married you? I mean, yeah I wanted some booty but . . .”

  “Pierce!” Jade shrieked before she pushed him then burst out laughing.

  He laughed loudly too, after which he kissed her tenderly. “I married you today because I knew from the moment we met you were the one for me. You’re my heart, Jade, and I wanted you to know I wasn’t just talking when I said I wanted you in my life forever. I never doubted that. And I knew making love would be as magnificent as every other part of our relationship. I love you, Mrs. Jamison, from the bottom of my heart.”

  “I love you too, Mr. Jamison,” Jade smiled devilishly, as she rolled on top of him. “Now let’s go back to the moon.”

  In the envelope Pierce had given Jade were two open tickets to Las Vegas. Initially she was confused and didn’t realize he was prepared to marry her as soon as they could hop on a plane. Pierce’s only condition was that they have a big reception when they returned so their family and friends could celebrate with them. Jade was concerned he may not have really considered how expensive it would be to host a reception with a full wedding party and all the trimmings. That’s when she decided to ask Pierce about his financial status. Up until then Jade didn’t think it was any of her business but considering they were a day from becoming husband and wife, she thought it was time to inquire. They disclosed their bank records and Jade was shocked to see exactly how well her man was doing for himself. The hundreds of thousands of dollars in his personal accounts made her eight thousand dollar savings look like chump change! And that didn’t even include his business accounts. Jade was impressed but a little embarrassed she hadn’t saved more.

  Realizing everything closed early on Sundays, Pierce and Jade left to choose his ring and run errands to get ready for their trip to Vegas the next morning. They argued at the jeweler because he didn’t want the big, fancy ring she wanted to ge
t.

  “What do I look like giving you this plain band when you got me something so extravagant? Our rings are supposed to compliment each other, Pierce. They’re supposed to belong together.”

  “We belong together, babe. That’s what matters,” he smiled. “This ring is the one that will make me happy. It’s the one I want, okay?”

  Jade finally conceded and paid the six hundred fifty dollars for his eighteen carat white gold band, guilty over the fact that he’d paid almost nine thousand dollars for hers. Then she and Pierce went to select their wedding attire.

  29

  Chapter Twenty Nine

  “Wow,” Pierce smiled when Jade got off the hotel elevator and walked towards him. He swore he wasn’t going to cry when he saw Jade in her wedding dress, but she looked so radiant in the long, strapless, white satin gown that he couldn’t stop himself from shedding a few tears. The love of his life was about to become his wife.

  When Jade spotted Pierce her eyes welled with tears. He looked so suave standing there in his black suit, white shirt, and yellow silk tie. And with his goatee grown back and skin still silky smooth, Pierce looked like he’d walked off the pages of GQ Magazine!

  “You look so good, babe,” Jade smiled then hugged him tightly. “Oh, honey, thank you. This is beautiful,” she said of the bouquet of yellow and white roses he’d ordered for his bride-to-be.

  “You’re beautiful,” Pierce smiled sweetly. “Okay, come on . . . spin around and let me get a good look at you.” Jade put on her “fierce face” and sashayed a bit for him. “Oh yeah, that’s nice,” he moaned, loving the way her dress accentuated every one of her curves.

  After a few more minutes of admiring each other, Pierce and Jade walked hand in hand across the street to the chapel. Both of them cried through their vows as they promised to love each other forever. Jade was shocked during the ring exchange when he slid two other pieces on her finger to make a complete set. More tears streamed down her face and she couldn’t wait to kiss Pierce. Then, at a little after two in the afternoon on February 5, 1996, she got her chance once the two of them were pronounced husband and wife.

  “We’re married, babe,” she cried.

  “We’re married,” he smiled then kissed her again.

  The photographer Jade hired snapped pictures of the newlyweds as they ran out of the chapel hand in hand. They kept running right back to their hotel room to consummate the marriage. After hours of the most intense pleasure either of them had ever experienced, they showered and redressed in their wedding attire. Jade had made arrangements with some of the vendors and fellow planners she and Landon had worked with over the years to help make her wedding night special.

  “Let me just say that I am impressed, Mrs. Jamison. I didn’t realize you had this type of pull, girl,” Pierce said with pride as they sat across the table from one another. “I like being treated like a celebrity because my wife got clout in Vegas!”

  “Well, what can I say? I got it like that,” Jade laughed.

  They spent the evening talking and laughing and enjoying being husband and wife. For the rest of their stay in Vegas the newlyweds made love and ordered room service to replenish their strength to make love some more. It became like an addiction and Pierce and Jade couldn’t get enough of each other. Finally, on Thursday morning they boarded a plane and headed home to start their new lives together. Jade gave thirty days notice at her apartment but she never slept there again. Her home was with Pierce and Dane and there was nowhere else in the world she wanted to be.

  Mrs. Jamison arrived to work Friday morning excited to talk to Landon about her wedding and honeymoon. She was so happy and she knew he’d be happy for her too. Jade had no way of knowing the drama she was about to walk in on or that her heart was about to be broken.

  “I hate you, you son of a bitch!” Gabrielle screamed, slapping at Landon. “How could you do this to me? I thought you loved me!”

  “I do love you, baby. I just made a mistake. Please, Gabrielle . . .”

  It was then, as they made their way down the steps, that Landon and Gabrielle spotted Jade. She was standing with her mouth gaped open wondering what had caused such a violent argument between them. There was broken glass all over the living room floor where, she was assuming, Gabrielle had demolished all of the frames containing their wedding pictures.

  “Well, I guess things just wouldn’t be right if your little girlfriend wasn’t here, huh, Landon?” Gabrielle sneered. “You know, Jade, I thought we were cool. Why wouldn’t you tell me? How could you let me walk around making a fool out of myself? As another woman I think you owed me the respect to tell me. I shouldn’t have had to hear the truth from Cassandra!”

  “Tell you what?” Jade frowned, as she looked from Gabrielle to Landon. She assumed Landon and Cassandra had an affair and Gabrielle thought she knew about it the whole time.

  “Oh, come off of it, Jade! I know Landon tells you every damn thing! You knew this mothafucka had a vasectomy and y’all let me . . .”

  The shock and devastation on Jade’s face let Gabrielle know she didn’t have a clue about it and the woman she had began attacking quickly became a shoulder to cry on. As Jade held her trembling sister-in-law she looked to her brother for an explanation. She thought her heart had stopped beating for a moment after Landon admitted having a vasectomy. Jade couldn’t understand how a man she’d adored for years could sit by and watch his wife go through everything Gabrielle had endured to get pregnant when he knew the entire time it could never happen!

  “How could you do this, Landon?” Jade cried still consoling Gabrielle. “How could you watch your wife agonize and think it was her fault she couldn’t

  give you a child? How could . . . oh my god! You actually injected Gabrielle with that FSH stuff to help her get pregnant when you knew . . . oh my god!” Jade screamed as she glared at Landon.

  “I was scared and I didn’t wanna lose you, Gabrielle,” he said, as she continued to sob in Jade’s arms. “I didn’t think you would give me a chance if I told you at first. I loved you so much, baby, and I was terrified you wouldn’t marry me if you knew and . . .”

  “So this was all about what you wanted, huh?” Jade responded, as if any of it had to do with her. “I thought you were a better man than this, Landon. For years I held you in this high regard because I thought you had integrity. But you ain’t no different than every other lying, selfish, manipulative dog and I hate you! I hate that I ever went to bat for you when people tried to discredit you or question your character. I almost lost the love of my life defending you, and for what?”

  Landon had never seen such hatred and disgust in Jade’s eyes and he could barely stand to look at her. Gabrielle eventually stopped sobbing and grabbed her suitcase to leave. All Landon could do was stand there and cry as the two women he loved most in the world walked out on him. Suddenly he began thinking about Katrina and wondered if she had been feeling what he was feeling when she decided to end her life. Tears continued to stream down Landon’s face as he considered whether his life was worth living without Jade and Gabrielle in it.

  When Jade came into Quik Stop upset over what had taken place at Landon’s, Pierce just let her vent and kept his opinions to himself. The next day, however, he decided to tell her how he felt.

  “Babe, I know you might not wanna hear this but I think you’re being unfair to Landon. Ever since I’ve known you you’ve been ready to go to bat for this dude even against me. So you can’t turn your back on him at a time when he needs you most. I know y’all are really close but this doesn’t have anything to do with you. He’s entitled to have a part of his life that’s separate from you. I don’t know why he chose to keep that from Gabrielle, but it’s between them, Jade. How would you feel if he found out about the abortion and said he hated you and ran out? You obviously have things in your life you didn’t feel was Landon’s business and he has things that isn’t yours,” Pierce said, as he ran his fingers through her hair.

&
nbsp; “I know I don’t understand everything you’re feeling, but I really think you should just be his friend right now. Love him enough to put aside your own emotions and be there for him because I guarantee he needs you more than ever. So go be with your big brother, okay? I’ll be at the store if you need me.”

  “You’re incredible, you know that? Somebody should marry you,” Jade smiled then gave him a big hug. She appreciated that Pierce was willing to put his own feelings aside about Landon in order to help her do the right thing. “Thank you, babe. I love you.”

  Jade left to get Chinese takeout from Landon’s favorite restaurant then made her way to his house. “Landon? Landon, where are you?” she called.

  “I’m in the living room,” he said, surprised to hear her voice. “What are you doing here?”

  “I came to check on you . . . your ole stupid self,” she smirked. “And why are you still sitting around in his ugly robe? Get your big butt up,” Jade fussed.

  She grabbed plates and forks from the kitchen as well as a few sodas. Then Jade plopped down on the loveseat across from Landon and started talking like it was just an ordinary day. She told him about her fight with Pierce and that he’d called her an asshole. Jade knew he would find it funny and he almost choked on his food from laughing so hard. Landon almost choked again when she told him about Reese showing up at her apartment. He couldn’t believe it.

  Landon got a little teary-eyed when Jade told him about the proposal. Pierce had planned to do it at his birthday party in front of everyone, but she thought it was perfect just the way it was. And so was the wedding. Landon laughed hysterically after Jade told him how insane she was acting when she got that first orgasm! She confessed feeling like a nymphomaniac because she couldn’t keep her hands off Pierce. Everything about him turned Jade on and all she could think about was sex!