by U
Each movement was accompanied by loud outbursts of vivid passion.
“I feel you. I want you. Take me back to the beginning. Make me forget everything in between. Everything but us.”
He wanted that, but inside, his heart was overflowing with pain and regret. Chelsea’s face loomed in the background, her scolding eyes burning his skin. In the two years they had dated, he never dared even fantasize about another woman. She had been more than enough, even when they were apart.
He remembered the surprise birthday party Diego had thrown for him in Miami. The
menu included a host of scantily clad women all clamoring for his attention. The star performer was an Asian girl with the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen, and movements no
chorographer could duplicate. Feeling her gyrate against him had been arousing. Her lithe body shimmied against his. Her hands were everywhere. Tempted by her tantalizing body, he had smiled broadly and shook his head when she reached for his belt. His teammates, especially Diego, had pelted him with questions.
“Man, are you sure you’re feeling okay? I’ve never seen you turn down something this luscious. It’s your birthday. Relax and enjoy.”
He had turned down many offers since then, but could not walk away from Frankie’s
plea. She had always been there for him, loved him. She had made him feel like a man long before he was. She now needed the one thing he could readily provide, but it wasn’t the same.
Feeling her grinding against him should have made him elated, not remorseful. His body had responded, but his heart was torn in two.
“Ouch!”
He jumped alert, loosened his grip on her breasts and tried to change his expression.
“You’re not into this at all, are you?” She slowed her erratic gyrations but remained firmly impaled on the part of his body that had responded very well.
“I meant everything I said.” Convincing someone who knew him well took concentration.
He held her shoulders and looked into her eyes. “You’re beautiful, baby. Even more desirable than before.”
“But I’m not Chelsea.”
He became even more attentive, hoping to erase her concerns about her sexuality. “No, you’re Frankie, the woman who puts all others to shame.” With her butt cheeks cupped in his hands, he guided her through motions that sent quivering spasms up and down his body. “I’ve missed you, baby. No one can stroke it with the motion like you do.”
Before his declaration was finished, she screamed his name in a convulsive release.
“Now! Right there! Keep it coming, baby.”
Wanting to please her in every way, he directed his thoughts to the present, was
swallowed up in her joyous eruption, and soon joined with one of his own. She was still clinging to him. He held her there. If I could only go back to the past. Me and Frankie. I don’t want to let her down.
“Did you enjoy it at all or was that just for me?” She peeled her body from his and kissed his sweaty brow.
“I want you to do me a big favor. Stop putting yourself down. Just because that creep Richard can’t recognize a good thing doesn’t mean another man won’t.” He held her close. “I wish I could be that man. I wish I could wash away your pain, go back to the beginning and start all over again, but I can’t. I’m hurting right now. Hurting bad. The one thing I’ve dreaded all these years has come to pass, and I’m still not coping well.”
She smothered his face with kisses. “Oh, Isaac. Life is like a big garden of flowers. There are lots of eye pleasing attractions and seductive scents. Once you’re hooked, you realize it’s also filled with thorns. It isn’t easy but we can’t always bypass the pain. You inhale the greatness and deal with the sadness.”
He smiled. “I know. I want to make you forget the thorns. The sadness.” He looked into her eyes. “Even if I was not hung up on Chelsea, there’s still more than just you and me to consider. I love your boys like they were my own. I would never hurt you or them.”
“What about Chelsea? Don’t you think you should give her a chance to tell her side of the story?”
“I did when I left here earlier, that’s why I went to the courthouse. I was planning to take her to dinner and ask her to marry me.”
“Isaac. I’m so sorry.”
“I spent the weekend and yesterday trying to build up to it, but she was still playing cool, or so I thought. When I realized she wasn’t playing, I started thinking about what happened Sunday morning when I went to her place. She was asleep and I did what I normally do when we’ve been apart. The way she responded was like nothing she had done before. She could have been thinking, dreaming about someone else, like Quincy Beckham. Polished, pretty boy.”
“Now who’s putting himself down? I wish I had gotten to know her better. I wanted to, but after the four of us were last together, Richard went on a long tirade about how you and I kept looking at each other. From the little I’ve seen, Chelsea was all the way into you. You should have stayed there, confronted her and this man. Maybe it wasn’t what you thought.”
“Maybe. She said she wasn’t interested in him and I believed her.”
“Then go to her now.”
“Can’t. I’m leaving tonight. I made reservations on the drive here. In fact, I’d better get a move on or I’ll miss my flight.”
Frankie used the sheet to cover her glistening body. “Don’t you think you owe her a chance to explain?”
“It wouldn’t be good for me to see her now.” He grabbed his pants. “I’m too angry. I’ve never struck a woman in my life, but if Chelsea tells me she’s been playing me all this time, I’m not sure I could control myself.”
* * * *
The wall clock droned nosily in the silence of the living room. Chelsea sat on a barstool with her laptop on the counter. Everything she wanted to say about the case was not admissible in court. Finding it difficult to concentrate, she went up to her bedroom and stared at Isaac’s photograph. Her heart dilated as she thought of every sweet, romantic moment they had spent together. Her mother’s old adage crowded her thoughts. If it can be fixed, it’s just a problem. If not, it’s a situation.
Unsure of where their relationship lay, she commanded her phone to dial his number and felt rejected at the direct connection his voicemail. “Hey, I don’t know where you are, but I’m starting to worry. Call me.”
Thinking she heard the front doorknob jiggle, she went back downstairs, hoping Dee was with Skip, so she could properly vent her anxiety. A loud bump slightly shook the door.
Knowing Skip usually carried a briefcase and armloads of food, she went to unlock the door.
Thinking, instead, of the newly installed peephole, she slid back the brass plate, but could not see anyone. “Skip? Is that you?”
She heard another bump and then thud on the stairway. Her head ping-ponged from the door to the stairs where a big ball of fur sauntered down the steps. “Armageddon!”
She ran to the steps, scooped the cat into her arms and hurried upstairs for her pistol. The front door was opening when she started back downstairs. She held the gun with both hands and pointed.
“What the hell is going on?” Skip stopped in his tracks.
“How long have you been out there?”
“I just walked up.” He came in carrying his usual load. “Are you okay? Did somebody try and break in? Did you call the police? Do you wan—”
“Hold it, hold it, hold it.” She lowered the revolver and took a deep breath. “I’m fine. I thought I heard someone at the door earlier. Then I heard noises upstairs, which turned out to be this insane cat. All of this mess is making me crazy.”
Armageddon stood next to her leg, hissed and growled at Skip.
“And you, you big hairball! No one I know has a cat who bounces off walls and hates men.” She looked over at her brother. “The hating men I can understand. I don’t know what happened to Isaac and he won’t return my calls.” She told him about her latest encounter wi
th Quincy.
“I know he saw Isaac standing there with flowers in his hand. From where he stood, all he saw was Quincy leaning over me. David said he bolted and wouldn’t stop when he questioned him.”
“Let me try his cell. From now on, I’ll let you know when I’m heading in. I’m glad you have the pistol. We’ll just have to practice more caution overall.” He closed the phone. “Voice mail full. I guess he’s not taking anyone’s calls.”
After a restless night of making phone calls and leaving messages, Chelsea had coffee and toast with Skip and hurried to her office before going back to court. She checked her messages, made notes of the ones she needed to return, and was about to leave when a shadow appeared in the doorway.
“Frankie.” The haggard face before her seemed much older than she remembered. One
glance could tell that a lot of pain now resided there. “What’s wrong? Isaac. Has something happened to Isaac?”
“Yes, and no. He’s not hurt, or anything. Do you mind if I come in?”
“Please. Come in.” She stood and motioned to a chair. “I’m due in court shortly, but I’m sure you wouldn’t have come unless it was important.”
“It’s important because Isaac is important. I don’t know how much he’s told you about our history, but I’ve known him since he was born. Outside of my boys and my mother, I love him more than anyone. He doesn’t know I’m here, but he’s really hurting. I had to try and help.”
“Hurting how? What do you mean? What’s wrong?”
“First, I need to ask you a question. I know the two of you discussed avoiding a serious relationship, but I need to know how you really feel.”
She frowned “Why do you ask?”
“Because what I have to say will only matter if you truly care for him. If you love him.
Otherwise, I can save my speech and let you get on to work.”
The feelings that had plagued Chelsea earlier now returned with force. Taking no time to think, she tried to give Frankie an honest answer. “We did both agree to keep our relationship light. That was a long time ago. Every time I started thinking of us as more than just lovers, I remembered what he said about not wanting more than a casual relationship. I held back because I didn’t want to scare him off.” She faced Frankie. “There’s only so much holding back I can do.
What I feel for him is much more than we agreed. I’ve been afraid to let him know…I’m in love him.”
“Good. I know time is tight, so I’ll try and be brief. A long time ago, when he was much younger, Isaac fell for someone. He fell hard. That first attraction kind of thing. She never knew how he felt, and inadvertently hurt him deeply. Since then, he’s made a career of brief relationships. The ones that last past one night are asked to keep the relationship casual. You’re the only one who has lasted for an extended period of time. He called your relationship casual monogamy. It may have started out that way but he’s long past that stage as well. I suspected he cared for you, but he denied it and I didn’t press. He’s in love with you. Completely, crazy in love. When he felt threatened by this man, this attorney, Quincy something or other, he became afraid of losing you, something he’s never allowed himself to feel since that first time.”
“So where is he? Why won’t he return my calls?”
“He left for Atlanta last night. I think he called the coach, but no one else. He tried to tell you how he felt this past weekend. I don’t know what he said, but you obviously replied the way you thought he wanted you to. He kept trying, but never said what was in his heart. I guess you kept covertly turning him down. We spoke early yesterday and I advised him to let you know how he felt, so he showed up at the courthouse with an armload of roses to ask you to marry him.”
“Marry?” The word struck her hard. “You mean he was there to propose? Why didn’t
he?”
“Because you were engaged in what he thought was an intimate conversation with this other guy. Isaac made reservations to leave early for Atlanta, but stopped by my house to tell me what happened. He was devastated.”
“God. This shouldn’t have happened, Frankie. Isaac should have trusted me enough to know that I would never allow anyone to come between us.” As soon as the words were spoken, she felt a stab of pain. “I can’t speak for Quincy. I think he was just trying to push my buttons.”
She turned away. “I’ll admit, I felt some attraction in the very beginning. I guess that’s when I realized how much Isaac means to me.” She turned back to face Frankie. “What should I do?”
“Let him know how you feel. Go to Atlanta if you have to, but don’t leave him stewing in anger. He deserves better.” She stood. “Do you still have a relationship with this other guy?
Would you have accepted Isaac’s proposal?”
“I will accept his proposal. Nothing happened between Quincy Beckham and me. He
came on to me, heavily I might add. Isaac is perceptive enough to read it for what it was, but not on my part. The slight attraction I felt when we first met, was just that—slight and short-lived. It happened because I was thinking of forever, and felt that wasn’t what Isaac wanted. I knew that sooner or later, Isaac would learn how I felt, and probably run like hell. I briefly thought of dating Quincy if that happened. Now, I have nothing but contempt for Quincy, and that’s rapidly turning to hatred.” She glanced at her watch. “Thank you. I owe you one.”
Frankie smiled and walked to the door.
“Was it you?” Chelsea called after her.
“What?”
“The woman Isaac fell in love with. It was you, wasn’t it?”
Frankie smiled, pivoted on her heel and walked from the room.
* * * *
The courtroom was buzzing when Chelsea arrived, but Quincy was nowhere in sight. In her rush to get there, she had forgotten her bottled water and was parched from the scuttle and from her early morning visitor. After scanning the crowd, she whispered to the bailiff and walked down the corridor to the water fountain.
She took a long drink, inhaled and was about to take another when she saw the alligator shoes. Trying to gather her wits, she turned and found the irritating smile beaming down on her.
“Good morning. You might not believe this, but I was worried when I didn’t see you in court. Someone said you ran out for water. I wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
“Is that so?” Thinking it was too simple to tell him what was on her mind, and not wanting to spoil her mood for the trial, she smiled sweetly. “Well, remind me to tell you how that makes me feel. We’ll talk after recess today.”
“If you would just listen to reason, this trial would be over today and I could start showing you just how good we are together.”
Keeping her composure and her smile, she left him standing there and went back to the courtroom. When she looked around to see if he had followed her back inside, she found him making eye contact with a man she had noticed in the back of the courtroom on each day of the trial. It took only a second to put a name with the face. The pieces fell in place. When they did, her hands shook with rage.
Quincy is not into me. He’s a decoy. I was set up. Son of a…
Chapter FIVE
Court convened and Chelsea called the witness who had rescued Barbara Colbert. After testifying that he ran into the bushes when he heard a woman scream, he also definitively described Curtis Hamilton as the young man leaving the area with blood-splattered clothing.
Quincy stood, buttoned his jacket, paced across the floor twice and stopped in front of the witness stand. “Let the record show that my client has admitted being in the park that evening.”
He turned sharply on his heel and spoke to the witness. “You were in the park that evening and you didn’t go there with Barbara Colbert, so why assume my client did?”
Tension washed over Chelsea. Images of Colbert’s battered face danced in her mind.
Hatred had never been a part of her world. In as a child, she had learned to forgive and
forget.
Knowing a man had tried to use her and was intentionally misleading the court was almost too much to digest.
“You had blood on your clothing when the police arrived.” Quincy’s face was a mask of smugness. “Did you beat Ms. Colbert?”
Chelsea objected with enough indignation to draw a warning from the judge. When they recessed for lunch, she decided not to try and hold her anger any longer. The opportunity to clear her mind was waiting when she walked into the corridor.
“So you think you made some headway with your star witness?” His smile was slightly tart. “That was your star witness, was it not? Oh, I forgot. You had something to tell me, and judging from the irritation I detected in court, it must be salacious. What is it, baby? Are you ready to see what I have to offer?”