Terri explained to me in great detail how a man had offered her and her cousin $1000 apiece to fuck them both. When Terri refused, her cousin went back to the gentleman's club and found another girl that was willing. Terri and her cousin had rented a room for the night but when she woke up Sunday morning, her cousin was gone. She had driven to Carolina in her cousin's car but had to take a bus back to Augusta.
They hadn't spoken since the incident and according to Terri, it was the final straw on a long list of shit that her cousin had done to her. She always referred to her cousin as "that bitch" and swore that her cousin was someone not to be trusted.
By the time I finish talking to Terri I had a very good understanding of who she really was. Since I was in a relationship she was going to cut back on the phone calls and just wait for me to reach out to her. She made me promise not to put too much time in between us getting together. It was a promise that I wasn't sure I was going to be able to keep because I've fallen in love with Vivian and didn't want anything to interfere with what we were trying to have.
Although Vivian had run the streets a little when she was younger, she seemed to want to live a different life. Vivian went to church on Sundays faithfully and when she wasn't at work she was with me or at home with the boys. She was a little insecure but after looking in my phone, she believed that she could trust me.
I really enjoyed her inability to keep her hands off of me. I had also grown closer to her sons even though I never stayed overnight. Vivian wasn't ready for them to see her with another man in her bedroom besides their father which was cool with me. It gave us time to sleep in different places and miss each other.
Vivian had my heart and nothing she was going to say was going to change how I felt. She was having trust issues with me but little did she know was that there was a part of me that didn't trust her.
Chapter 10
It was Saturday night and I was just getting home from Applebee's. I went to have a couple drinks by myself and catch a basketball game. While getting out of my car I spotted one of my neighbors, a middle aged white guy, in front of his apartment smoking a cigarette.
"Hey there," he shouted to me as I walked toward my apartment door.
"Hey, what's up?" I responded being a good neighbor.
"Nothing much… They shipping me off to Afghanistan this week… I'm going to be gone for at least a year," my neighbor volunteered.
It appeared he wanted to talk and since I had been drinking, decided to give him a few minutes. He was married to a pretty young black girl and they moved in a couple of months ago. We had spoken to each other a couple of times in passing but never had a conversation.
"I'm sorry… I'm just running my mouth. My name is David would you like a beer?"
"I'm Zach, and sure why not," I responded before he passed me a cold Budweiser.
We stood outside and talked for about an hour for the first time. David was a 28 year old country boy from Kentucky. He and his wife had moved to Augusta two months ago after he got stationed here at Fort Gordon. They had a five-year-old little girl and this was going to be his first time being away from them since they were married.
He was a little excited to find out that I was originally from New York and did a little acting. I was getting ready to go in the house when David decided to share something interesting. "Hey, my little lady told me that she knocked on your door one day and heard a little hanky-panky," he confessed before giving me a wink. His statement had me stagnated for a second because I didn't remember what he was talking about.
"Ohhh… Think I had just got back from New York that day and my girl couldn't wait," I threw back at him before following up with a wink.
We both just started laughing as I finished off the beer before going inside. David was a cool dude and I was a little embarrassed that it was his wife that had been knocking on the door the day Vivian gave me some special treatment.
I was getting my clothes ready for the Memorial Day cookout tomorrow while wondering how David and his wife was going to deal with being away from each other for so long.
I had taken a shower and decided to relax and watch a little television in the living room before going to bed. My clothes were laid out for tomorrow and I was looking forward to meeting Vivian's family, at the Memorial Day cookout. She warned me that her family could be a little crazy but if I wanted to close the deal with Vivian, I had to meet the family. The only one I was concerned with was her mother. Vivian’s mother didn't care for the kids’ father or her choice of men and had no problem letting them know. I believed her when she told me her mother can be a little outspoken after a couple of drinks.
I was sitting on the sofa in nothing but my pajama bottoms watching television trying to figure out how I fell in love with this girl so soon. I kept hearing my father's voice telling me that I needed to settle down and he was right. I was thinking about getting Vivian a ring and asking her to marry me when I dozed off.
Shortly after, I was awakened by the ringing sound of my phone. It was a few minutes to midnight according to the time on my cell phone when I answered, "Hello." There was a woman on the other line crying hysterically and I couldn't catch the voice. It took me a minute to realize that it was Vivian and she was on her way to see me.
She needed to talk to me but didn't want to talk about it over the phone. Whatever it was had disturbed her something terrible. I got up to wash my face and pull myself together before she got there.
It didn't take long before she was in my apartment sobbing uncontrollably.
"Calm down… What the fuck happened? Have a seat… Talk to me… Vivian what's wrong?" I pleaded with her to tell me.
"I love you so much…," she said, crying as I put my arm around her to let her know that everything was going to be okay.
"Zach, please promise not to be mad?" The tone in her voice made a lump grow in my throat as the seriousness of what she was going to tell me smothered my body.
"What is it?" I asked boldly not really wanting to know.
"The kids father…"
"What he called you?"
"Yes…" she mumbled underneath her breath. "He's… He's…"
"He's what?" I asked feeling a little upset. She was stuttering and taking her time and I really wanted to know what was going on.
"He's… He's out of jail…" Vivian finally said.
I heard her but still didn't understand why she was crying.
"So… Why you cryin'?" I asked even though the news bothered me.
I kissed Vivian on her forehead as she laid crying on my chest. I was trying to console her while she wiped her tears on my bare skin.
"There's more…" she mumbled sniffling and rubbing her face on my body.
"Shhhh… I don't care! We'll deal with him together," I whispered while rubbing on her arm trying to console her.
"You still care about him… Are you trying to break up with me?" I just had to ask. They had two kids together and of course she loved me while he was in jail, but I needed to know how she felt now!
It took a minute for her to answer as I waited patiently. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before asking her again, “So tell me… Do you want to be with him?"
"I don't know… I mean no," was the response I got, although it really didn't answer my question
She admitted to still having feelings for him, but confessed that she was in love with me. Vivian said that her kid’s father wanted her back and was willing to do anything to make that happen. He threatened to tell me some things about her that she had not told me. She was afraid of losing me behind the things she had done before we got together.
I rubbed her cheekbones gracefully wiping away her tears. It was the first time I'd ever seen her crying and what's crazy is that I was able to feel her pain. I had fallen in love with a woman who I had just wanted to sleep with only once. Vivian had my heart in the palm of her hand and wanted to tell me her secrets but I didn't want to hear them, at least not now.
"Listen babe, please stop cryin'," I pleaded given her soft pecks on the cheeks and then on her lips.
"I love you Zach," she whispered back trying to hold back her tears.
She was in a bad place so I did the only thing I knew to comfort her. I grabbed her and put my tongue in her mouth. Everything about Vivian turned me on and seeing her in tears was no different. I stopped kissing her and gave her a really big hug before going in for the kill.
"Come on…," I said before grabbing her left hand and pulling her off the sofa.
I was leading her into the bedroom when she began to plead, "Please Zach… I need to tell you everything."
"In a minute," I demanded as I lead her into my bedroom. Her face was still a little wet from the tears but she was no longer crying by the time I sat on the bed and pulled her between my legs. I sat her down on my lap, she placed her arms around my head and we joined lips. I could feel our souls joining forces as I leaned back on the bed and she positioned herself on top of me.
Although Vivian had on clothes, I knew she could feel that the big boy was wide awake. Neither one of us said a word as she stood up and quickly took off her clothes while I sat up and pulled off my pajama pants. I then laid back on top of my blanket and Vivian laid on top of me.
We were skin to skin and exchanging wet kisses when I rolled her over off of me and climbed on top of her. Her legs spread automatically and it only took me a second to place my love stick inside of a woman I was in love with.
I was giving Vivian the gentle strokes that she loved while she scratched into my back. I felt a burning sensation on my back but the pleasure I was experiencing with it allowed my body to acknowledge the pain I was feeling physically.
Vivian was hurting emotionally and I was fucking her to save our relationship. And for a moment I believed she was doing the same. We had been skin to skin plenty of times before but this was different. My heart and emotions were deeply involved.
This was my first time feeling like I was actually making love to Vivian rather than the fucking we had been doing. It was electrifying and I could tell by her soft moans and scratching of my back that Vivian felt the same way.
She didn't have to tell me her baby daddy wanted her back because I had what I'm sure he was missing. Vivian's pussy was soaking wet and a man would be a fool to not want her. It was at that point that I realized that Vivian was the one. I'm not only wanted to marry her and spend my life with her but wanted her to have my baby.
"I love you…," I whispered into her ear as I released thousands of little soldiers into her wet box in search of an egg to fertilize.
If her baby daddy was prepared to do anything to get her back I was prepared to do anything to keep her. I had her! “She is mine,” is what I was thinking while I laid on top of her just kissing and whispering sweet things to her.
"I love you… You can tell me anything… With your pretty self."
"I love you too… But I…" Vivian responded before I put my finger on her lips to stop her from saying anything that was going to ruin the moment.
I then asked her to join me in the shower to freshen up before giving her some special treatment. We lathered each other up before making love underneath the steamy running water. We played around like newlyweds on their honeymoon without saying a word. We were communicating with our eyes and hands.
Visions of her wet hair pushed back exposed the beauty in her eyes when I looked into them. We didn't spend that much time in the shower and remained silent when we got out and dried one another off.
Once we were back in the bed Vivian wanted to talk but I didn't want to hear what she had to say. I was feeling good and didn't want to feel nothing else.
"Please Zach… I have to tell you," she pleaded with me as I kissed her lips and face.
"Get off… Don't touch me," Vivian shouted at me as she pushed me away before balling up into a fetus position under the covers and began rocking back and forth like little girl. She had her back toward me when I placed my arms around her and squeezed tight.
"Okay… What is it you want to tell me?"
I asked the question although her answer was going to be something that I didn't like. And then Vivian began to speak.
"I'm married," Vivian blurted out as we lay in the dark only moments after giving her the last piece of my heart. I was numb for a second and really didn't know how to feel about what she had just said.
I promised to never give my heart to another woman, but I did. I turned Vivian loose and sat up on the bed confused. She then placed her arm around me and began to tell a story about a young girl that used to be a stripper, which is how she met her kids’ father.
She was in a dark place when she met him. He was selling drugs and treated her real nice at the beginning. Then he started beating and pimping her. She was afraid of him and had no choice but to marry him when he asked.
It was like a pain had transferred over into my body as she confessed to selling pussy whenever it was slow at the gentleman's club. The more she spoke, the more my heart crumbled. I could feel my eyes tearing up but I refused to let a drop touch my cheek.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner," I screamed at her as my heart turned into ice.
"I didn't expect to fall in love with you," she said as tears ran down her cheek. "I wanted to tell you but I didn't know how or when."
"So if dude wasn't out of jail and threatened to tell me, would you have ever mentioned this?"
"Yes, I was…" she said, but I didn't believe her.
A sharp pain occupied the place where my heart once was as I worked up enough nerve to ask my next question, "So when did you stop dancing or do you still dance?" I asked the question, unprepared to handle the truth.
"It was about a year ago. Right after he went to jail… I went to Columbia, South Carolina with one of my cousins because I wasn't working and really needed money. We used to be real close up until that night," Vivian began before telling me a story that sounded all too familiar.
Vivian and her cousin had invited a guy they met at the strip club back to a hotel room they were staying at. He wanted to have sex with both of them but her cousin didn't want to. He was going to give them both $1000 apiece and she really needed the money. I sat on the edge of the bed with my head down listening to a woman who I had fallen in love with tell me that she was fucking dudes for money. I was hurt, ashamed and angry all at the same time as she continued to rip my heart apart.
"Are you okay?" she asked, seeing that I was visibly upset.
"Not really… But finish the story, I wanna know everything," is what came out of my mouth but not what I really meant as she continued.
When her cousin refused, she went back to the club with the guy and found another girl. She was so angry with her cousin that she left her without having a way to get home. It was also the last time they seen each other. They had a very bad argument the next day and exchanged very ugly words.
Vivian didn't go to family functions if she thought her cousin was going to be there and believed her cousin did the same.
By the time Vivian stopped moving her lips I was speechless. I had no questions and no feelings about anything or anyone.
"I'm so sorry Zach… But I do love you," she said although I wasn't listening. There was a moment of silence when my cell phone began to vibrate on my dresser.
It was late so I ignored it until it began to vibrate again only seconds after. I normally would not have answered it this time of night in front of Vivian, but I didn't give a fuck at that moment. My body could not feel any more pain than it was already experiencing.
When I answered the phone it was KK and she was in jail. Immigration found out that her marriage was a fraud. Here she was going to jail for marrying a man she didn't love and I wanted to marry a woman that already had a husband.
KK had been in jail all day and child protective service had taken her kids. She wanted me to come to New York and get her out before they took her kids away from her for good. KK didn'
t know that my money was getting low but was counting on me.
"Fuck-Fuck-Fuck!" I screamed before throwing my phone up against the wall and smashing it into pieces. Vivian was startled because she had never seen me lose my temper before.
"What's the matter?" Vivian asked after I got off the phone with KK cursing and slapping shit off of my dresser. The entire evening had me pissed the fuck off.
"Put your fuckin’ clothes on… Go home," I ordered Vivian.
"Zach please, I'm sorry! I love you" she pleaded and the more she did the more I felt nothing. I couldn't look at her as she slowly put on her clothes.
I was pacing back and forth when she asked "Are you breaking up with me? Please don't… Zach, I love you!"
I said nothing as she grabbed my arm and pleaded with me to forgive her and to give her another chance. For a second I started to tell her about Terri but I didn't. The thought of them being cousins crossed my mind as Vivian got dressed and finally left.
After she left I sat on my sofa taking shots of tequila to ease the pain. A part of me wanted to go back to New York and never return and another part wanted to swallow a bottle of pills and never wake up again. I was alone and hurting as I thought about my next move.
I needed to figure out a way to get a lot of money and fast. I was physically strong but emotionally drained when I went into the bathroom, opened the medicine cabinet and grabbed a bottle of Motrin. I just wanted to ease the pain. My eyes begin to water as I made my way back to my bedroom to lay down in deep thought, wishing that I would never wake up and questioning if I did, should I forgive Vivian or take my chances with Terri?
TO BE CONTINUED…
Down For the Count
Nicole Shephard
Intro
"Tacari Brown, please report to the main gate," I heard over the loud speaker.
I picked up my bag and a picture of my kids and my husband and smiled. I was so happy that he waited for me all these years and never left.
PPP Box Set Page 38