by Nyora René
“You’re right. I was being petty. You’re also right about me not handling Eloise. I was just so surprised by her visit because it was out of the blue. We haven’t talked in almost a year.”
“Dude, word of advice? Don’t make excuses, accept your shit without them. As for being petty, it happens to the best of us men when our feelings get hurt by a woman we care deeply for. I’m telling you this from experience. Corrine and I didn’t always have it easy, man. In the beginning she left my ass because she wasn’t about the games. I had to learn quickly that when dealing with her, being straight up and acknowledging my fuckups and feelings were important,” Albert said.
“I’ve never had this happen in any relationship I’ve been in,” Brendon said. He kicked his shoes off and wiggled out of his socks. He sat on the edge of the pool and put his feet in.
“That’s because you’ve never felt this deeply about a woman. You’ve loved women, but you’ve never loved a woman like you do Crystal, with your whole body and soul. The woman that makes you love her with everything in you will possess the power to hurt you more than any other woman. She’ll have you acting out of character and will take you out of your comfort zone, but she’ll be worth the frustration and struggle. Just make sure that you present a united front whenever some shit comes your way, like Eloise. That woman needs to know that you’re serious about Crystal, and that needs to be stated and shown when Crystal is or isn’t present. I understand that you and Eloise have history with her having carried your baby briefly, but that doesn’t mean she has a permanent place in your life.”
Brendon talked to Albert for a little while longer, gaining some insight on the inner workings of what it took to have a true and lasting relationship. By the time he hung up with Albert and ate his meal, he sent Crystal a message.
Brendon: I’m sorry for how rude I was this morning. Whenever you’re ready to talk let me know the time and place.
He placed his phone in his pocket and cleaned the grill and deck area. His phone chimed, signaling an incoming text.
Crystal: I’m free now and can be at your house in fifteen minutes…is that ok?
Brendon: I’ll be waiting.
Brendon walked into the house and selected a bottle of wine for them to drink. Not sure if she’d eaten, he called a local delicatessen and ordered a fruit and vegetable tray along with a chef’s salad for her. She would get here before the food, but it shouldn’t be too far behind her.
His palms were sweating and he was nervous as hell. He wasn’t sure what the outcome of today’s talk would be but was determined to own up to his faults. The doorbell pealed and he anxiously rushed to the front door. He looked out the peephole and scowled, then opened the door.
“Why didn’t you use your key?” he asked, stepping back to let Crystal enter.
She wouldn’t meet his eyes and shrugged in lieu of an answer. He grabbed her hand and turned her to face him, lifting up one hand to cup her face and force her to look at him.
“Use your key. No matter what we’re going through, you can always use your key to my home. You’re always welcome here, despite how I behaved this morning. I’m sorry for being an ass,” he told her, gazing into her hazel eyes.
Crystal placed her hands at his waist and rested her head against his chest. She had to feel how hard his heart was pounding, or at the very least hear it.
“Okay,” she murmured.
“I ordered you something to eat, and a fruit and veggie tray. I wasn’t sure if you’d eaten yet. I also took out a bottle of wine for us. The food should be here…that’s probably them,” he said when the doorbell rang.
After paying for the food and tipping the driver, Brendon shut the door and led her into the kitchen. Seating Crystal, he set out their food and poured them some wine, leaving the bottle at the table with them.
Brendon took a deep breath. “I want to first start by apologizing for Eloise being at the office and her disrespect towards you. I didn’t know she was coming, but the minute she started talking about wanting us to get back together, I should have escorted her out. I didn’t, and I’m sorry for that.”
Crystal reached across the table and grabbed his hand. “I appreciate your apology. I didn’t like seeing how close she was to you, and her being in your personal space pissed me off.”
He squeezed her hand and leaned forward. “I need you to know that I have absolutely no intention of getting back with Eloise. I don’t want any woman but you.”
She smiled, and his heart threatened to burst from his chest. Damn, he missed her smile!
“I’m glad to hear that. I also need to apologize. I shouldn’t have left the way I did, nor should I have ignored you. I should have stuck around and talked to you.”
“You were upset about the pregnancy,” he said, wincing when her mouth tightened along with her grip on his hand.
“Upset, hurt…but Jade made me realize that I wasn’t entitled to know everything about you. You have a right to disclose what you want about your past to me. Coming to that realization also made me realize that I was jealous,” she said, not meeting his eyes.
His own eyes widened, and he reached over with his free hand to pull her gaze back to his so that he could see her eyes.
“Why were you jealous, baby girl?” he asked quietly.
“Because she carried your child, however briefly it might have been. She shared something with you that I hadn’t, and you kept it from me. It felt like in that moment, you were closer to her than you were with me,” she whispered.
He shook his head and stood up, moving to her. He lifted her from her seat and sat down, and sat her down on his lap.
“I found out about the baby, and in the next breath was told that she was miscarrying. Neither of us had a clue she was pregnant. I didn’t know what to think, and everything happened so fast—with the knowledge that she was pregnant and then the knowledge that she was in the middle of a miscarriage. I didn’t know how to feel or what I felt in those moments,” he explained.
“But why not tell me?” she asked, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.
“Because I didn’t know what to say or how to process how I felt. As time went by, Eloise and I broke up, and my feelings for you deepened. There was a lot coming at me, and hiding my feelings for you became a full-time job. Honestly, I put the loss of the baby in the back of my mind because you took over my every thought,” he confessed, hugging her closer to him.
He prayed she understood where he was coming from. When she nodded, he dropped his forehead to her shoulder and let out the breath he’d been holding.
“Okay, but in the future, now that we’re together, whatever happens from this point forward, no more secrets,” she said.
He smiled. “I promise if I get someone pregnant from here on out, I’ll be sure to let you know,” he teased, yelping when she popped him upside his head.
“Boy, the only person you better be getting pregnant is me…and not any time soon!” She caressed his head where she’d popped him.
“You got it, baby girl,” he said, planting a quick kiss on her mouth. He wanted to go deeper and further, but they still had issues to hash out.
“Is she still around?” Crystal asked against his lips.
Brendon pulled back from her tempting mouth. “Yeah, I have her banned from the gym, but she’s been calling me from different numbers and coming by the house. I block every number she calls from, and I never open when she comes by. I told her if she doesn’t stop, I’ll file harassment or stalking charges against her.”
“Or you could just let me kick her ass,” Crystal told him, arching her eyebrow.
Brendon laughed and shook his head. “Nope, I don’t need my woman with a mugshot. Besides, your sisters would kick both of our asses if that happened.” He told her about the conversation he had with Ruby, and Crystal winced.
“You know she’s always been a bit of a hard ass. She gave me shit for leaving, but I deserved it. You didn’t deserve her iciness be
cause she didn’t know what happened,” she told him.
Brendon shrugged and stroked his hands up her back. “It’s all good, she was showing solidarity with you and taking up for you. I can’t be mad at her for that.”
Crystal kissed him. He let her have her way, opening his mouth for her tongue, but it wasn’t enough. He took over the kiss, ravaging her lips, tasting every inch of her moist cavern and reacquainting himself with her body.
When her hand found its way inside his shorts, he pulled back. “Baby girl, as much as I want to lay you out on this table, we need to address a few things,” he said, struggling to rein in his desire.
Crystal was out of breath, but she froze at his words. He gently pulled her hand away from his erection, closing his eyes as she squeezed a final time before releasing him.
“What else do we need to discuss?” she asked huskily.
“Our relationship. No more running when situations get tough or our feelings get hurt, okay?” He kissed her forehead.
Crystal nodded her agreement. “That was immature of me to dip like that,” she told him.
“We’ve both been immature. The way I handled you coming in earlier today was a prime example of my immaturity. Let’s agree to keep the lines of communication open and tackle situations head on,” he said.
“I think we should slow down a little. Not saying we can’t be together, but our relationship is new. I know you as a friend, but I’m learning new things about you as the woman in your life. Let’s go on actual dates instead of rushed dinners where we hurry home to make love.”
“You want me to woo you, and you deserve that. I agree, we can pull back, but, babe, I don’t know if I can pull back on making love to you…” He nipped her bottom lip.
Crystal moaned against his mouth. “We don’t have to slow down on that. Just date me, courting if you will. Let’s get to know each other as significant others.”
He agreed and kissed her long and hard. Slipping his tongue in her mouth again, he welcomed the shot of lust that tightened his groin. He had missed her taste. Missed having her in his arms. He stood and lifted her into his arms, his destination the bedroom, but someone chose that moment to ring his doorbell and lean on it.
Crystal tore her mouth from his. “You expecting someone?” she panted, tracing his mouth with her tongue.
He groaned and captured her tongue, lightly biting down on it. “No, let’s ignore them.”
“Kinda hard to do with them leaning on the bell. Get rid of them.” She wiggled to get down from his arms.
Brendon tightened his hold, unwilling to let her go. “I don’t care.”
She rolled her eyes. “I do. I don’t need whoever is at the door hearing how loud I plan to make you scream my name. I’ll go strip down, you get rid of your unwanted visitor,” she told him, tugging on his earlobe with her teeth and then sauntering up the stairs, tossing a wink over her shoulder.
He groaned as he watched her ass sway up the stairs. Brendon adjusted his erection and hoped whoever was on the other side of the door wouldn’t notice his dick attempting to poke a hole through his shorts.
He flung the door open without looking, ready to curse the person leaning on his doorbell, only to groan out loud at seeing the smiling face of Eloise.
“What the fuck do you want?” he growled, standing in the doorway and refusing to move. He would slam the door in her face, but he didn’t put it past her to keep ringing the damn bell until he returned.
“Come now, darling, you know I want you,” she purred, taking a step towards him.
Brendon’s hand shot out and bumped her shoulder, stopping her forward movement.
Crystal had made it to the top of the landing, her shirt off and dangling from her hand when she heard Eloise’s voice.
“This bitch…” she muttered, quickly pulling her shirt back on.
She jogged down the stairs and enjoyed the way Eloise’s eyes widened when she saw her.
“Hi Eloise,” she said, coming to a stop next to Brendon and sliding an arm around his waist.
Brendon’s tense muscles made her stroke his back, silently urging him to relax.
Eloise sneered. “What is she doing here? Have you told her that we’ve been talking this last week?”
“Oh, you mean when he tells you to leave him alone, and your desperate ass keeps calling from different numbers that he keeps blocking? You mean those conversations?” Crystal said with a smile, tilting her head to lean on Brendon’s shoulder.
“Look, Eloise, I don’t how many times you have to hear me say I don’t want to be with you, but you need to stop, this isn’t cool,” Brendon told her.
“And you want me to believe you want your best friend over me? Look at her, then look at me. My body is tighter than hers, I’m way prettier, and I can help you take your business to the next level with my contacts. What can she do for you?” Eloise scoffed.
“Bitch, I look ten times better than you will ever look with your bought body. I know plastic surgery when I see it, I—”
“Crystal has a beauty on the inside that surpasses the beauty on her outside, which is damn near impossible because I don’t know another woman more beautiful than her. What can she do for me? She can make me happy beyond my wildest dreams. She supports me and encourages me. She’s been here for me since the day I met her. I was just too slow to realize how I felt about her. There could never be a you and I again, because there can only be a Crystal and Brendon.” He squeezed Crystal closer to him.
Tears pricked Crystal’s eyes as she listened to him talk about her. Her heart overflowed with love and she wanted to kiss him so bad, so she did, right there in front of Eloise. She turned his face towards hers and kissed his mouth, slipping her tongue inside and dueling with his. He wrapped both arms around her and lowered his hands to her ass and squeezed. Crystal moved closer, cradling his erection between her thighs as she moaned into his mouth.
“Hello! I’m standing right here,” Eloise snapped, breaking up Crystal and Brendon’s passionate clench.
Crystal shook her head and pushed Brendon behind her. “Eloise, go get you a man who wants you. Brendon doesn’t. I’m saying it nicely…this time. Next time,” she said, taking a step into Eloise’s personal space and lowering her voice to a barely audible threat. The other woman’s eyes widened and she gulped hard. “Next time I see you around my man or find out you called him, I will find you and beat your ass. No question, no conversation, just straight ass-kicking.” She slammed the door in a terrified Eloise’s face and locked it.
Crystal turned to Brendon, who wore a smirk. “You find that funny?”
His full lips parted into a bigger smile that lit his face. “I find that sexy as hell,” he said, grabbing and lifting her. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck.
“Oh yeah? Prove it,” she told him, licking his ear and biting on the lobe.
“It would be my pleasure,” he said, walking blindly to his bedroom as they engaged in a long, wet kiss.
Epilogue
A year later…
“Brendon, where in the hell are you taking me?” Crystal asked, blindfolded, hands outstretched as she tried to keep her balance in the five-inch heels she wore.
“What part of ‘it’s a surprise’ did you not understand?” he retorted, guiding her by the waist as he stood behind her.
“Ha ha, smart ass,” she muttered, walking slowly despite his guidance.
“Have I mentioned how beautiful you look tonight?” he whispered in her ear.
She shivered as his warm breath caressed her ear and his hands stroked her waist. Crystal had on a sleeveless nude Jovani gown with a deep vee in the front. The backless dress was molded to her curves, as if it had been made with her in mind.
Last week she’d received a huge bouquet of three dozen roses, a box of her favorite chocolate-covered caramels, and a fancy invitation requesting her presence to a night of intrigue. Dress code: formal attire. She’d clutched the ca
rd to her chest with one hand and used the other to push Brendon back from where he was underneath his desk, enjoying a nice wet treat, courtesy of her pussy.
Crystal had come to his office to finalize the plans for their tiny home project’s grand opening. He’d made her set an appointment with him for the meeting. Upon entering his office he’d immediately grabbed her around the waist and kissed her as if he hadn’t just seen her a couple of hours before.
The next thing she knew, he’d sat her down on his chair behind his desk and lowered to his knees, raising her skirt up and pulling her panties down. His mouth latched onto her clit and her back arched in the chair, her hands automatically clutching his head, thrusting her sex further into his mouth. Before she could climax, though, his secretary knocked on his door and said she had a delivery for Crystal.
Brendon wouldn’t budge from her clit and Crystal couldn’t form any words. He moved so that he was under the desk, out of eyesight, winking at her as he called for Erica, his assistant, to enter. He then pulled the chair forward so that her upraised skirt wouldn’t be visible and resumed feasting.
Crystal had only had enough time to school her features into the best version of pleasant she could with his mouth working over her womanhood. Luckily, Erica could hardly see her as she walked, in hidden behind the huge bouquet of roses.
“What are you smiling about?” Brendon whispered in her ear.
“Remembering how you went down on me at your office last week,” she moaned, breathing increasing.
“You liked that, baby?” he asked, licking the side of her neck.
A river flowed from her womanhood, soaking the crotch of her panties. “Mmm…” she moaned.
“You wet, baby? You want me to take you back to the limo and take care of you?” he asked, huskily.
Crystal stopped and tried to turn around, ready to rip the blindfold off of her face and drag him back to the limo. Brendon’s grip on her waist prevented her from turning around.