He reached out grabbing my hand.
“Maybe so, but it’s only because I care about you.”
Mikey was always looking out for me. It made me sick to my stomach how badly I am betraying his friendship right now.
“I’m sorry Mikey. I had too much champagne and I wasn’t thinking. I guess all the romance around me kind of got to me.”
He reached out and grabbed my hand.
“I know it is still hard for you. I can’t wait until the day when you completely heal. You deserved better than that stupid motherfucker.”
I laughed.
“Thanks. I guess I don’t always feel that way.”
“I know you don’t. That is why you keep hooking up with all these random guys, but you are beautiful and deserve a man that will give you the world.”
“Is that the way you treat Stacey?”
He smiled.
“That is how I would treat any woman I was in love with.”
Stacey is a lucky bitch, I think. Who could ask for a more understanding man?
I look over at him and there is something there. I don’t understand what I am seeing but there is such tenderness in his eyes that I have the urge to reach over and give him a hug.
He leans in closer bringing his voice down to a low sensual whisper.
“What do you think it would have been like if we hooked up Maxi?”
I was a little stunned by the question at first, but then I remember that this is Mikey and we have played this game before. Plus, I was horny and in the mood to play.
“I think that it would be fantastic!” I exclaimed.
He beamed. I guess I did a good job stroking his ego. He leaned back in his seat folding his arms across his chest.
“You know, I was thinking the same thing. I know that you would be electric in bed. I can just see you now all wild and crazy.”
I threw my head back and laughed.
“That is true. I’m not so sure about your style in bed.”
He smiled.
“Well, let me clear it up for you,” he said placing his hand on my thigh.
“I like it very rough. I want a woman to feel me deep and hard inside of her. No mercy. I want to bang her fucking head on the headboard.”
I start to sweat. I was crazy to play this game with him. He always wins!
“Wow, I can’t see Mrs. Stacy being able to handle that.”
I lookeds up and see Julia walking back to the table. She is on her cell phone. I don’t know who she is talking to and I don’t care. I just keep trying to remember if my vibrator had batteries.
“Not very many women can handle me. I bet you can Maxi. I bet you can handle all of me. It would be your first white boy fuck.” He said moving back to his place at the table taking a sip of water.
Technically it wouldn’t be...
“And it would be your first black girl fuck or have you already cheated on me.”
He leaned forward.
“No baby, I’m saving myself for you.” He joked.
“Aww, you’re such a good boy.”
He stared at me as if he was in deep thought.
“I wish that we had handled this when we were in college.” He expressed.
“But things would be different between us.” I pointed out.
He moved into his previous position so close anyone else would have thought he was going in for the kiss.
“Oh Maxine, it could have been quite different.”
I stared at him wordlessly.
Just then the server interrupted sitting our drinks down on the table.
“Are you ready to order or do you need more time?” He said with little enthusiasm. Mikey moved away from me, but not without winking at me broadly.
“We’re ready.” Julia said returning to her seat.
I wonder if she saw or heard anything that had just transpired.
***
After lunch we rode in the Escalade back to my apartment. It was silent in the car except for the sound of the radio playing softly. I was still all tingly from my encounter with Mikey. It could be just my lack of sex but it felt like Mikey was genuinely coming on to me.
As quickly as that thought entered my head I dismissed it. The man just got married and his show at lunch is pretty much how we flirted the whole time we were in college.
I pushed our conversation to the back of my mind and continued to listen to the radio.
We stopped at a red light and Julia looked at me.
“Can I fix you up on a date?” She said her eyes wide with artificial innocence.
I exhaled nosily,
“Julia, I’m good. I really don’t need you to hook me up with anybody.”
“I mean after Timothy…”
At hearing his name my body tightened up and I cringed.
“Please, don’t mention his name.”
The thought of my ex always made me feel sick to my stomach.
The light turned green and she looked away to focus on the road.
“So, what are you guys doing for Thanksgiving?” I asked trying to change the subject.
She was quiet for a while then she answered.
“We are going to the Salvatore’s where we usually go for Thanksgiving dinner. They have a huge crowd at their house every year.”
We stopped at a red light and she turned to look at me.
“Hey, you should come.”
I froze.
“Maybe, I’ll let you know.” I said as calmly as I could.
She was quiet. I was glad she didn’t push any farther. The last thing I wanted to do was spend my holiday with the man with whom I had a one-night stand, his wife and the rest of his family.
Just the thought made my head spin.
We pulled into my apartment complex and Julia parked in the front. I undid my seat belt and opened the passenger door.
“Maxi, I worry about you.”
I turned to face her. Concern was written all over her face.
“You act like you have given up on men, on finding your true love. All you do is spend your time having meaningless sex with different men.”
“GREAT meaningless sex,” I corrected smiling.
She sighed.
“I’m serious!” She exclaimed. “I just want you to find somebody and be happy. Not every man is like Timothy.”
I leaned over the seat and gave her a big hug.
“Julia, I’ll be okay.” I said exiting the car.
That was the truth. I honestly was not concerned about myself. I was fine not finding a soul mate or true love. I really didn’t think I would ever find one. I had been hurt so much that a part of me died in the process. I had lost all hope. Right now, however, I had to make her feel better. I had to make her stop worrying about me.
“Julia, when my true love shows up I’ll know.” I said closing the passenger side door and walked into my apartment.
Michael
The noises in the bar were joyous and boisterous. There were people of every race, shape and size filling every table. They were gathering to drink, be merry, watch sports and enjoy one another.
Lorenzo and I decided to come here after dinner and get a few drinks and a few laughs.
The server set down our drinks. Lorenzo looked up at her and smiled.
“Today is my birthday. Don’t I get something special?”
She smiled.
I looked her up and down. She had red hair, lean slim body and a very beautiful smile. She was smoking hot and looked to be about 27.
“I just might have to give you something on the
house.” She said winking and walked away toward the bar.
I raised an eyebrow and smiled.
Lorenzo reached over and grabbed his beer. He turned it up and took a big swig. His eyes however never left the server as she walked away.
“Man, she is fucking hot. I could really show her a thing or two.” He said taking another sip of beer.
I laughed.
“What t
he hell are you going to show her?” I asked still laughing.
“What?” He asked looking insulted.
“You think I couldn’t get her? You think she is too young for me?”
I think for a minute. I stare at him. Did I think she was too young? Maybe, but who am I to talk.
“Well, I wouldn’t say too young.” I said picking up the amber bottle and taking a drink of beer.
Lorenzo surveyed the room. There were young beautiful women everywhere. I’m starting to believe that is why he decided we come here.
“Hey Mikey, isn’t that Amanda King over there?” He said smiling pointing to the red head at the next table.
I was in the middle of taking a sip of beer when he made that comment. I started to choke. I was choking and sputtering beer everywhere.
“Michael, are you alright?” He said jumping up from the table.
I couldn’t speak. The beer was blocking my airways.
A crowd gathered around our table including our server. I gained my composure and was now able to speak.
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” I said.
Someone had brought a glass of water to the table and I took a drink. I felt a lot better.
“He’s fine everybody.” Lorenzo said moving back to his seat.
The crowd followed his example and made their way back to their seats. I felt a little embarrassed.
I stopped the waitress and asked for a more substantial drink.
“Can you please bring me a shot of whiskey?” I said.
The server smiled and walked back to the bar. Lorenzo was laughing.
Clearly my almost dying has amused him in some way. I looked over at the red head and realized it was not Amanda and I could have slapped Lorenzo at that moment. The last person I wanted to see was my last mistress. I have been avoiding her for months. She stalked me for weeks after I ended our affair.
“Thanks for scaring the shit out of me.” I said taking another sip of water.
“My lord, Mike,” Lorenzo said laughing. “I thought you were dying.”
“Yet that is amusing to you?” I asked with a grin on my face.
We laughed for a few minutes.
“She looked like her.”
The waitress brought my drink and I downed it. The liquid burned my throat and I coughed for a minute.
“That’s what I’m talking about.” I exclaimed.
I started to feel warm and electric all over. It felt good.
Lorenzo was not paying attention to me. He was focused on a woman at the bar. She had blonde hair and fair skin. She was watching him with a mischievous grin on her pale yet very striking face.
I smiled.
“So, how is dating going?” I inquired.
Lorenzo slowly turned to me. His expression was unsure. He grabbed his beer and took a drink.
“Well,” Lorenzo said leaning back in his chair. “I miss coming home to a beautiful woman. This dating thing is driving me crazy. I’m just too old to be back in this game.”
“It’s been five years. You’re not going to try?” I asked.
I looked for the server. I saw her looking at me and I lifted my empty glass. She smiled, nodded and headed back to the bar. I looked back at Lorenzo. His cheerful demeanor had faded and his expression was solemn.
I sighed.
“Enzo, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.” I tried to explain.
He waved his hand and cut me off. Lorenzo’s wife, Olivia died five years ago. She struggled with breast cancer for years and finally it just consumed her. It was hard on both of them. Lorenzo and Julia. It was hard watching them watch her just fade.
“It’s okay,” he said folding his arms across his chest. “It has been five years but you know…I miss her.” He said.
The waitress came to our table and brought my drink. I leaned back in my chair and took a sip from my glass.
“The hardest part is not getting any,” he said laughing.
He was back to his joking self again.
“I mean,” he said taking a handful of peanuts from the center of the table.
“I am not getting any on a regular basis like you.”
I took another sip from my glass and looked at him.
“I wish it was my wife that was giving it to me regularly.”
I took another drink and just stared at him across the table.
“Not much going on in my house.”
“Really? Wow!” He said raising an eyebrow. “How is the therapy going?”
“Not so good, not much is changing. She doesn’t seem to think that there is anything wrong.” I said remembering our last therapy session.
Even our therapist was getting frustrated.
Lorenzo exhaled noisily.
“So nothing is going on?” He questioned.
“Not a damn thing.” I answered finishing off my drink.
Lorenzo looked at me and stared. He watched me closely.
“What?” I asked.
He leaned back in his chair.
“I am not trying to cause any trouble, but you think maybe she took a page from your book and is getting it from somewhere else?”
I had thought about that myself.
“It would explain a lot, but I don’t think she has time to do anything else. If she’s not planning an event or dinner party she is shopping and if she is not shopping she is having lunch with her girlfriends.”
As the words left my mouth a new thought popped into my head.
“Unless her girlfriends are the ones she is messing around with.”
Lorenzo started to laugh. He was having trouble controlling himself. I was serious so I did not see what was funny. He caught on after a few minutes when he noticed I was not laughing.
“Wait, you’re not joking?”
I shook my head.
“Wow, really?”
“It would definitely explain a lot.”
He shook his head in disbelief.
“Explain what?” He asked cautiously waiting for some juicy tidbit.
I wasn’t ready to admit there were times, in the beginning of our marriage; I suspected Maria may be interested in something other than a straight monogamous relationship. I never mentioned it and after our sons were born there was really no point.
I took another sip of my drink.
“Man, if she is sleeping with her friends, than you are luckier than I thought.” He said laughing.
“Ha ha, very funny. Too bad I am not reaping those benefits.”
“How much longer can you go on sleeping with other women? How long can you get away with this?” He asked with genuine concern in his voice.
I took a sip of beer.
“Not much longer I can tell you that.”
***
Later that night I lay in bed thinking about what Lorenzo said. A man has needs and I knew that my needs were strong and unfulfilled. I turned over and looked at the empty side of the bed where my wife would be sleeping.
She was still gone, enjoying the night with her friends. I am not even sure that I received a ‘Happy Birthday’ call today.
There were so many things that I wanted to say to her but I wasn’t sure if she would even listen. I wanted to tell her how much I loved her but I couldn’t do this anymore.
I wanted to shake her and ask her where the passion has gone. I wanted to know if she knew where we were going.
Does she even care?
I sighed.
I slid slowly from beneath the soft navy down comforter. My feet hit the soft carpet and I walked slowly toward the door. I turned back and look at the time.
2:52 am.
I can’t believe Maria still isn’t home!
I turned the doorknob and walked out of the room closing the door softly behind me. I made my way down the stairs and across the living room into my office. I turned on the lights and headed for my chair. I take a seat and pull open the top drawer of the mahogany desk and slide out a piece of paper.
Prohibited: an erotic novel Page 7