"Get in," Virgil said. "I was on my way back to the lot. I'll drop you off at your car."
"Shawna," Derick pleaded. "I'm sorry."
"Walk away," Virgil said.
"Dude, fuck you! You don't know me!"
Shawna jumped in between them again, and this time, she could barely prevent them from colliding. For all of the mess Derick talked about Virgil, she remembered doing this exact same thing in the lunchroom when they were in school. Underneath the piety and altar boy politeness was a hothead with a violent streak. If she failed to keep them apart, one of them was going to end up in jail and the other would be seriously hurt. Shawna shoved Derick back with both hands and pointed a warning finger at him, daring him to come at her.
"Stop, or I'll call my father and tell him what his assistant has been up to."
"I don't care. I don't care, Shawna. The only reason I was sucking up to him was because of you. But you done hooked up with this goofy lookin' asshole and basically told me to go fuck myself. I been bustin' my ass to impress your uptight, bourgie family for nothing."
"But ain't nobody told you to do all that, though," Shawna said.
"I hope he fuck you up like he did Janet. That's right, muthafucka. We all know about Janet."
"You don't know shit," Virgil seethed.
"I love you, Shawna," Derick said, backing away. "But you stupid."
Shawna grappled with Virgil's imposing bulk as he moved to go after Derick.
"Let it go," she said. "Fuck him."
* * *
It took days for Shawna to cool off, but even after she seemed to calm down, Virgil still couldn't pry the details from her. The specifics didn't matter. He had disliked Derick from the moment he met him and didn't trust him as far as he could throw him. It wasn't a suspicion that he wanted to have confirmed, however. He dreamed of a gentle melding of their lives, where they'd hold barbecues and poker nights. He'd adopt some of her friends, and she'd get close with some of his. First Mikki and now Derick. Virgil admittedly felt much worse about the animosity between him and Mikki than he did about Derick. The last thing Virgil wanted was to isolate Shawna from her friends or family. He hoped she understood that he didn't want to come in between her and anyone. But if he ever found out that Derick had hurt her, he didn't know what he would do.
The sun had barely warmed the apartment's windows early that Monday morning, but the songbirds were already destroying the silence, interrupted every once and a while by the honking squawk of a crow. Virgil sat in the kitchen over a hot cup of coffee, listening to the sizzle of bacon and eggs. He stared at the screen of his laptop, clicking through vacation websites. Maybe a few days away would do them some good. Shawna sleepily strolled in, and leaned over the back of Virgil's chair to hug him. Her warm, soft breasts pressed into his shoulders and her cold hands found warmth against his chest.
"Good morning," she yawned.
"You could've slept in," he said, turning to kiss her.
Shawna turned off the stove and slid breakfast onto two plates. She left them on the counter when Virgil didn't move from the computer. Returning to him, she massaged his shoulders. "What are you working on?"
"I think we could both use a nice vacation."
"Hmm, I haven't really done anything to deserve a vacation," she said honestly.
"It would still be nice."
Virgil rolled his neck in the direction of Shawna's kneading hands. He kissed her knuckles and pulled her into his lap. "I really just want an excuse to see you in the tiniest bikini we can fine," he whispered. Kissing her neck, Virgil reached into her robe and traced her collarbone with his fingertips. "I want to undo the strings with my teeth, and lie you down on a beach towel in the sand." His fingers walked down between her breasts. "We'll roll around underneath a ruby sunset, listening to the sounds of breaking waves."
"Mmhmm, Mr. Songwriter, tell me more." Shawna moaned, leaning her head to the side. She opened her robe and let Virgil's kisses find their way down to her breasts. His fingers dipped in between her legs and found her clit, massaging it. Shawna opened her legs wider. Virgil's fingers entered her, clutched by her wet sex while he continued working her clit with his thumb.
"You like that?" he asked.
"It feels good," Shawna purred. She ran her hand through his soft hair. He brought his mouth back up to hers and their tongues pressed against each other as they explored each other's mouths. Shawna slid the robe off her shoulders and let it hit the floor. Virgil continued fingering her, his cock hard beneath her. Shawna gripped his arm as her body began to quake and Virgil found himself moaning along with her as he made her cum.
He removed his fingers and told her to turn her back to him. Shawna gripped the kitchen table for leverage as she lowered herself onto his cock. Virgil put his hand back in between her legs to pleasure her clit and feel the walls of her pussy squeeze him with every pulse.
"Virgil," Shawna cried. "Oh, god, yes!"
Virgil played with her breast with his other hand, keeping Shawna pressed against him. He kissed the tense muscles of her back. He couldn't bring himself to cum in that position. "Let's move to the bed," he said, thrilled at the shuddering breaths Shawna was letting out.
Virgil licked his lips, watching Shawna's beautiful, naked form walk toward the bedroom. The insides of her thighs were wet with arousal, and her thick ass jiggled deliciously. The way her waist narrowed made his mouth water. He came up behind her and lifted her off her feet, carrying her giggling to the bed. Shawna lay on her back with her knees up. Virgil knelt in front of her, slowly stroking himself, staring at her glistening pink and brown pussy with the small hard nub on top framed by trimmed black hairs.
"I just want to watch for a little while," Shawna said with her eyes fixed on his hand and slick cock. His stomach muscles tightened with every pull. She bit her lip as her pussy twitched with anticipation, the lips gaping wider. Virgil was a beautiful man. It wasn't something she would have admitted when they first met. Of course he was handsome, but he initially wasn't her type. So far, though, he exceeded her expectation. His attentiveness spoiled her and the sex was mind-blowing, his eager mouth and huge cock always ready for her. Some of the black men she had been with were well hung, some weren't, but there were always jokes about white men being small. Anyone who said that had never seen Virgil hard.
Virgil leaned forward and licked a trail from Shawna's belly button to her neck before pressing his cock in between her legs, enjoying the warm, wet entry that he created. None of the women he had been with before had ever been as wet and soft as Shawna. She constantly surprised him with how uninhibited and open she was for the daughter of a preacher. It almost disappointed him that he didn't have to work to pull her out of a protective circle of innocence. She’d even taught him a thing or two.
Janet had taught him nearly everything else. Unlike most women, she was vocal, commanding. Janet told him what she wanted, when she wanted it, and where she wanted it. Women like tongues, deliberate movements, and lots of attention. For everything he did right, there was a delicious reward. The truth was, that experience came in handy with Shawna.
Virgil rolled his hips into Shawna, grunting and cursing under his breath. Shawna gripped his ass and thrust her hips into Virgil. She moaned his name and closed her eyes, riding the wave to her next orgasm.
Virgil pumped harder, bracing himself against the headboard, his breath labored.
"Janet!" he called.
Shawna froze, taking her hands off of Virgil's back. Virgil stopped and opened his eyes.
"Shit," he said. "Shawna, I didn't mean to. I'm so fucking sorry."
"Get off me."
"Shawna."
"Get off me!"
Shawna pushed Virgil away from her and calmly rose from the bed. With her eyes wide, she slowly shook her head and backed away.
"Shawna, I'm sorry," he said, rapidly running his hands through his hair. His thoughts raced. Never in a million years did he think that Janet's name would slide
past his lips. Not while making love to Shawna. He didn't want to hurt her. Virgil convinced himself that he didn't even want Janet. She represented everything wrong with him. "Shawna, I'm sorry."
"I'm tired of people saying that. People who are supposed to love me. If you all are so goddamn sorry then why do you keep doing shit to me?"
Shawna quickly dressed, throwing a few garments into her gym bag. Virgil could only sit on the edge of the bed and watch with tears in his eyes and his head in his hands. There was nothing he could say. He couldn't go back in time and stop himself from lapsing into the fantasy, allowing it to carry him away. Janet was as much of a drug as what they used to take. He couldn't be trusted alone with a bottle of Oxycontin and he couldn't be trusted to hold Janet in his thoughts. His eyes followed Shawna around the room as she packed the bag. She didn't even throw a look over her shoulder as she stormed out of the apartment.
In the parking garage Shawna froze. There their cars sat. Her heart hammered her ribcage. She looked up at the ceiling and at the three vehicles. She owned nothing except what she carried. Shawna had given up everything. Her apartment, her job, her schooling. Swearing under her breath, she slid behind the wheel of the white Mustang and peeled out of the parking spot.
The morning sun hid behind a sudden batch of thick clouds, and the smell of rain swelled in the atmosphere. A clap of thunder carried Shawna and the Mustang over the hill and into traffic. She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. Where was she going? She couldn't go home. Her former landlord said he had never rented an apartment so fast as he signed over a check for her full deposit. Mikki's place wasn't an option. She could see her friend sitting there, looking cockily over a glass of something expensive while waiting for Shawna to take a breath so she could say, "I told you so."
Shawna's side buzzed and she jumped. Digging her phone out of her pocket, she saw her mother's icon. "Hi, Mom," she said, shakily.
"Hey, Shawna, your father done ran off to do something or another. Wanna come keep me company?"
"Yeah, sure."
"What's wrong?"
"I'll tell you when I get there."
"Okay, baby. Drive safe. You get squirrelly when you upset."
Shawna laughed in spite of herself. "I will."
She hung up the phone, breaking the peace that had surrounded her for as long as she heard her mother's voice. Shawna turned the corner and started heading toward the hotel where her parents were staying.
Her thoughts moved back to Mikki, desperate to think of anything other than the ecstasy in Virgil's face as he moaned that other woman's name. The way his body clenched and the way he was unable to keep his hands off of her since Janet came back into the picture all made her stomach turn. The one time she didn't trust Mikki to run her social life was of course the one time that she failed. She had fought Mikki tooth and nail over Virgil, bringing them to the brink of ending their friendship. She'd give it a week or two before breaking the news to Mikki, and more than likely, asking if she could stay at Mikki's house until she could get back into her own apartment. She had to call and apologize to Derick. He was right, too. Everyone knew better than Shawna did.
Shawna pulled into the parking lot and jumped out of the car. Her mother stood under the hotel's awning, eying the vehicle.
"It's borrowed," Shawna said. She was going to give the car back to Virgil as soon as she could. The Mustang was in her name, so she technically would have to sell it to him. Shawna rolled her eyes at the thought. He'd probably make a big deal out of it.
"It's cute. I like it," her mother said. She hooked her arm into her daughter's and the two women entered the building. Nichelle led Shawna into the hotel's cafe and they slid into a booth.
"They have the best hot chocolate here," she said. "It's dark, rich, and they'll serve it with marshmallows and graham crackers on the side."
"Sounds good."
"What the boy do?" Nichelle asked, assuming right off the bat that it had to do with Virgil.
Shawna huffed a small laugh and looked down at the table. Nichelle already sounded unimpressed with her daughter's situation. It was hard enough to express her emotions without feeling judged before she even said the first words. The waiter swung by and Nichelle ordered them some small appetizers and hot chocolate. She attempted to fill the silence with musings about how much she liked the area and would probably make more effort to come see Shawna, even if it was just to absorb the culture of Shawna's new home. When Shawna could only reply with polite smiles and nods, Nichelle pressed again. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"I, um . . . ."
"I'm not your father, girl. Spit it out. Let's talk like we used to. Come on."
Shawna nodded solemnly. She forgot sometimes how stunted she was when it came to dealing with life through her father's lens. With his sudden appearance and the events of the last few days, Shawna had defaulted to the defensive, protective mode she took to avoid the rambling, high-volume lectures of her father. She and Nichelle had always had a special bond. They were sisters in arms, fighting for the right to relax and enjoy life. When asked what drew Nichelle to her father, Nichelle said, "There's a side to him that only I get to see, and that's important to me."
Shawna took a few more deep breaths and tried to figure out how to explain what had happened between her and Virgil. When delicate verbiage didn't lend itself she blurted, "He . . . called me by his ex's name during sex."
Nichelle made a tiny circle with her mouth and hooted. "He know better than that. What he do that for?"
"I don't know," Shawna said. She told her mother what Virgil had told her. "I don't even know if I believe him. He can't be too over her if he's screaming her name."
Nichelle watched her daughter carefully, a wistful smile on her face. Shaking her head she asked, "So, what are you going to do?"
Shawna sat back and blew out a puff of breath. She hadn't really thought about it. In the brief period of a few weeks, she had found herself fully entangled and dependent on Virgil, not just financially, but emotionally. She sat in that booth with her mother completely heartbroken-- but they didn't cry over boys in her family. The women in their family kept a stiff upper lip and kept going.
"I guess it was nice while it lasted," Shawna said. "I'll work on moving out on my own and . . ."
"You're kidding," Nichelle said, frowning. She put her cup down and leaned her elbows on the table. "If I had given up on your father on his first mistake, you'd never been born, and you get that from him. You just like him."
"No, I'm not," Shawna said, incredulous to be compared to her overbearing father.
"You sure are. Unforgiving, superhuman. If people can't keep up, you cut them out. Ain't everybody as disciplined as you two. Some of us suck, okay? You and your daddy don't give nobody a chance. It's one strike and they're out. You were probably too young to remember when he took over his first church and lost the entire congregation because he kept hiring and firing officers until nobody wanted anything to do with him. I had to tell him to chill out, and I'm telling you to chill out."
"Mom, he--"
"I heard you. You ain't hearing me. Y’all ain't been together long enough for you to throw away your whole relationship over something this small. Of course he was thinking about her. They were probably together for a long time, had some of those intense moments that only lovers have. It's hard to let people go. But, baby, I saw the way he looked at you, the way he stood up to your father--don't nobody believe that boy's a Christian, by the way."
"Yeah, I had that conversation with Derick," Shawna said, thinking back to how she flew off the handle at him. It was a kiss, a reminder that he would always be there for her.
"Mmhmm, you smashed the shit out of his heart, didn't you?"
Shawna groaned and pinched the skin between her eyes. "He told you?"
"Honey, please. People tell me everything. Don't worry. He's waiting on you. You got his nose all wide open. I'm actually surprised that you two didn't continue your relationsh
ip."
"Derick makes me itch," Shawna said honestly. "He tries too hard to please too many people at once. I don't know who he is. I'm pretty sure he don't even know who he is."
Nichelle laughed. "See, there you go. And Mikki, I think I saw y' all say three words to each other."
"She doesn't like Virgil," Shawna said. "We've been fighting over it."
"Now that girl right there . . . I was shocked she stayed your friend for so long."
"I thought you liked Mikki."
"I like Mikki because she's good to you, but, Shawna, that girl is a rat."
"Mom!"
"She is a rat to end all rats. That child would sell her grandmother's cane right from under her."
"She's not that bad."
"But do you see what I'm saying, Shawna? Give Virgil a chance. New relationships are always going to have bumps. You're learning how to be around a new person . . . plus, I'm sure with the way you are, he'll never, ever do that again."
Shawna sighed. "Thanks, Mom."
* * *
She took the long road home. The clouds broke and the sun shined through in tiny streams. Shawna pulled into her parking space. Neither of Virgil's vehicles had moved. She slung her gym bag over her shoulder. It weighed more now that her adrenaline had subsided. In the elevator, she began to feel guilty. Not just because her mother's advice had really hit home, but because she wondered how badly her reaction had hurt Virgil. With his past history with his mother, and his abysmal self-esteem, she probably hurt him more than she meant to, especially since her mother made her see how small his infraction really was.
Shawna's phone buzzed and Mikki's picture flashed on the screen. "Hey," Shawna said.
"Hey girl, what you doin'?"
"I am . . ." Shawna paused. She had two choices. Either she lied and hid the cracks in her relationship, or she could stand up for once and face the truth. "I'm reeling," she said finally.
BWWM Romance: Crossing The Line: Interracial Romance / Wealthy Love Interest Page 12