by Zuri Day
“Gerald, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. In reconnecting with my high school sweetheart, I married a memory. Once we were under one roof, it became clear that we’d grown into two very different people. We’re still cordial for the sake of our child.” A pause and then, “What about you, Buck? Are you still single or one of those liberated women determined to keep your maiden name?”
“I’m married to my career.” She gave a brief recount of her remaining years in Africa and the time she’d spent in Haiti before returning stateside.
“And here you are, about to dive headfirst into another challenging situation that will test your whole skill set and take all your time.”
“I’m still the workaholic you remember.”
There was a companionable moment of silence before Gerald spoke again. “It’s good to talk to you, Faye. I’ve never forgotten you in all these years.”
“There’s no forgetting those special times in Africa. Our team was unique.”
“We did a lot of good there. I still miss it sometimes.”
“I could use a good doctor here in San Diego.” The words were out before Faye could truly contemplate their meaning.
“Sounds like an offer, Buck. I’ll give it serious consideration.”
“Please do. Eventually we’d like to duplicate this model in cities across the country. The board will be looking for someone to head that up. I think you’d be perfect.” They spoke a few more minutes and exchanged cell phone numbers. Faye thought she’d gotten the surprise of the day.
Then Dexter walked through the door.
“Dexter!” A sight for sore eyes didn’t begin to explain his appearance.
“Hello, Doctor.” The greeting was casual, the fire burning in his eyes...anything but.
His sexy smile melted away the last vestiges of disappointment at him forgetting about attending the benefit.
“This is a pleasant surprise,” she said. “Especially since I’m not at the facility.”
“I talked to Jackson. He informed me of these temporary offices. I’d rather have learned that from you, but since a brother hasn’t gotten a phone call...” He smiled to show he was teasing, and then looked over at Vickie—who was staring unabashedly—and winked.
“Since leaving the resort my life’s been a whirlwind—even more so than I imagined it would be. Sorry I haven’t kept in touch.”
“No worries. Apology accepted. I’ve been busy, as well.”
Faye stood. “Vickie, I’m going to step out for a minute. If Pastor Jack or the college calls, please let both of them know that I’ll return the call shortly.” They left the conference room and headed toward a bar area located in the hotel lobby. “How’s Papa Dee?”
“Getting stronger every day—and still asking about you.”
“I hope I haven’t upset him. I promised to call.”
“So you’re a woman who doesn’t keep her promises?”
“I am a woman of my word. I didn’t say exactly when I’d call him...”
“Ha! Way to wiggle out of that one, Faye.”
“But I do feel bad. I’ll call him tonight.”
“What about me?” Dexter asked, once they’d reached the bar and chosen a booth in the back. “What are you going to do to make up for ignoring me?”
“Uh, I believe I’m the one who was stood up at her gala.”
“Baby, how many times do I have to apologize about that? And you still didn’t call me, even after I sent the text apologizing and set things in motion to get the construction started on your clinic.”
“I sent a text back thanking you; just like you texted me.”
“You should have called.” Dexter didn’t care that he was pouting like he was two. He wasn’t used to being ignored.
His attitude was endearing and Faye’s heart skipped a beat as she noted the scowl. “Is someone feeling neglected?”
He reached across the table and began to stroke Faye’s hand. “More like something.”
“Oh.” Faye felt herself flush from her toes to her ears. Does this mean that he hasn’t been with anyone since our tryst last week? The possibility surprised her, and made her smile. She would never admit knowing Dexter had been intimate with another woman would bother her...but it would. Even more of a bother was how at the memory of past intimacies every nerve ending in her va-jay-jay was now throbbing with need. Time to change the subject. Fast.
“Thank you so much for setting me up with your brother-in-law for the clinic’s renovation. He thinks the crew can be finished in two weeks. That’s amazing.”
“Jackson knows his stuff. They’ve already handled most of the electrical work and the flooring. Now they’re putting up the framing so that tomorrow they can start on the walls.”
“How do you know so much about what’s happening at my clinic?”
“I’ve got it like that,” he drawled, his twinkling eyes framed by those ridiculously long lashes while his mouth was fixed in that impish grin she’d come to love.
“Is that so?”
“Isn’t it?”
Faye couldn’t lie. It was. Yet she decided not to stroke his healthy ego. Especially when she’d much rather stroke something else.
“You probably assumed that I talked to Jackson on the phone, but I actually stopped by the building. He showed me what they’ve been able to do thanks to using a double crew.”
Faye eyed Dexter with a look of appreciation. If she were into having a relationship, she could really come to like this guy. “What has you in San Diego? I know you didn’t drive down just to see me.”
Dexter didn’t dispel the assumption Faye had made. He was too busy hiding behind the excuse he’d given himself for his trip down the I-15. “My brother lives down here. Donovan and his wife, Marissa.”
“I see.”
“I saw you on television the other night. It looks like your benefit was a success.”
“Yes.”
“I wish you’d call to give me the details about the affair. That would have served as a reminder.”
“You were waiting for me?” Faye was genuinely surprised. And a little miffed. “I gave the verbal invitation. If you were serious about going, then you should have called me.”
“Straight-shooting Faye Buckner. You know I like that about you.”
“Well?” She crossed her arms. “I wasn’t going to bring it up but...why didn’t you attend the benefit?”
“Honestly, I forgot.” Faye huffed. “I know,” Dexter continued, putting up his hands in defense. “And I’m sorry. It’s rare that I don’t record something in my phone, but somehow your fundraiser didn’t make it in.” He told her about hearing from his longtime friends. “I want to make it up to you.”
“How so?”
“For starters, with this.” He reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out a check and slid it across the table.
Faye’s eyes widened. She looked from Dexter to the check and back to Dexter again. “Fifty thousand dollars? This is too generous. I...I don’t know what to say.”
“Thank you works.”
“Those two words hardly seem adequate, but thank you, seriously, from the bottom of my heart.”
“No worries. My family is more than happy to help.”
Again, Faye was assailed with a myriad of emotions that she didn’t want to acknowledge, let alone handle. So again, she steered the conversation to what she hoped were safer grounds. “Did you have a good time with your friends in Oakland?”
He shrugged. “It was all right. I would have had a better time with you.”
Faye somewhat relaxed. “You are such a flirt!”
“Only when I’m around pretty women with whom I’m envisioning, uh, intercourse.” Faye looked away, embarrassed and turned on at t
he same time. “So what about it, Doctor? Let’s say you give me a tour of your new place, help me get acquainted with your bedroom, and I’ll help reacquaint you to something you like.”
Chapter 24
Two hours later, Dexter pulled up to a small, well-maintained condominium complex that was tucked away on a quaint block lined with tall trees on the manicured lawns of single-family homes. While Faye had finished up the time-sensitive projects on her desk, he’d used his spare key to hang out at Donovan’s house and handle some family business by phone. Maintaining his focus hadn’t been easy. He hadn’t been this turned on by the thoughts of seeing a woman in a long time.
“This looks like you,” he commented once Faye had answered the door. “Earthy, straightforward, practical, no-nonsense.”
“Guess I never was the flowery, frilly kind of girl.”
He turned and saw a painting anchoring the far wall. It was of a magnificent sunset, with the red, yellow and
orange emphasized. “But in the midst of all the order burns a fire.” Those words changed the atmosphere in an instant. “Come. Here.”
She could do no other than comply. Within seconds she was in his arms, with hands groping and tongues twirling and fingers fumbling for buttons to get undone. “Let’s go to the bedroom,” Faye whispered against his mouth, even as the blouse that she’d almost torn off was thrown on the floor.
“I want you right here, right now.”
Faye had been giving orders for the past three days. Who was she to argue?
He turned her around, pulled the skirt she wore over her narrow hips while admiring the round booty that fit perfectly in his hands, kissed the dimples that rested just above her mounds and slid a finger along its crease.
“Ooh.”
“Did you miss me?” Dexter’s voice was soft, raspy, as he rubbed himself against her.
“Yes,” she whispered, feeling him harden and lengthen against her.
He guided her hands to the couch’s arm. Bending that way left her exposed. Just the way Dexter liked it. His fingers played a familiar melody against her furry fortress, preparing her to receive his super-sized shaft. It didn’t take long. She jiggled her butt against him, her body begging for what he’d come to give. He slid on protection and then slid inside her—slowly, methodically—inch by delicious inch. Faye relaxed and exhaled, the rhythm between them coming naturally. He reached around for her small yet pert breasts, tweaked the nipples into the pebbled hardness he remembered. She moaned, clutching him with her inner muscles, moving her body like a belly dancer, balancing herself on the wedges she still wore. When she reached behind her to tickle his fancy, he could no longer hold back. He grabbed her hips, his mouth a firm line of concentration as he thrust himself in to the hilt, over and again, stenciling his name on her soul. He heard her began to pant, felt the soft quivers that preceded her moment of joy.
But it wasn’t okay that she’d been able to leave the resort and go on with life as though she’d never been with “The Dexter.” No other woman had been able to walk away, even for a few days, without reassurance that there would be more love. How dare she act as though she could live without him? No, he wanted to take her even higher. He wanted to leave her feening, like a junkie for a needle. He wanted to become her bad habit. So rather than take her over the edge this very second he stopped, pulling her up to kiss her back and shoulders before turning her around to plunder her mouth. Prolonging her pleasurable pain, he massaged her shoulders while he nibbled her earlobes and blew air on her neck. Before she could think, he eased her down on the couch, gliding his tongue down her body, nibbling her inner thighs and teasing her heat. He made love to her with his fingers and then with his tongue, hitting parts of Faye in ways that hadn’t been covered in anatomy class. He hit her spot and it felt as though she shattered into a million pieces. She pulled him to her, welcomed his weight as he sheathed his sword inside her one final time and only now, when he was sure he’d given over and beyond the type of loving imagined, did he allow himself to let go, moaning her name as he shivered.
Later, Dexter and Faye lay amid her crumpled bedding, courtesy of another frenzied round of making love. They munched on grapes, cheese and crackers, drank Perrier and easily bounced from one topic to another.
“Have you ever been to a third world country,” Faye asked.
“No.”
“Would you be open to visiting one?”
“Where...like Haiti?”
“Haiti is the poorest country on the Western Hemisphere. It would be a good place to start.”
“I don’t have to actually visit a place to provide assistance, or show compassion. I appreciate helping the less fortunate, but hands-on interaction isn’t me.”
“I know. And I’m not judging.”
“Sometimes it sounds like it.”
“Really, I’m not. The only reason I bring it up is because of how seeing true poverty up close changes lives. Citizens of rich countries often take what they have for granted. In the few days I’ve been back, I’ve listened to kids whom I want to spank and then put in time-out. The words coming out of their mouths, the sense of entitlement...so different from the little ones who’ve grown up responsible for making sure the family has clean water or helping the mother pick vegetables from the garden or watch their younger siblings. I’m going back there in a few months and—” she shrugged“—never mind. It was a crazy idea.”
Dexter rose up on an elbow and looked at Faye. “You’re going back to Haiti and you want me to go with you?” She nodded. “Well, why didn’t you just ask me? Be direct, the way you were when you wanted sexual intercourse.” A quick kiss softened the chiding tone.
“Will I ever live down my loose tongue during a moment of inebriation?”
“Probably not.”
“Whatever.”
A companionable silence ensued for a moment. “I’ll go,” he said at last.
“You will?”
“Don’t sound so astonished.”
“You will!”
“Okay, now you’re being sarcastic.”
Faye rolled over and straddled Dexter, slowly grinding her hips as she showered him with kisses. “I must admit there are perks to your lifestyle,” she breathed, her voice husky, his sex already responding.
“Like what?”
“Your car. Um. I like it.”
Dexter’s smile widened at the mention of his baby. “Well, all right woman,” he murmured, easing himself inside her. “Let’s get ready to ride!”
Chapter 25
The week passed quickly. Faye not only called Papa Dee but promised to visit him the following Sunday. Her mountainous to-do list was slowly going down. The renovation was buzzing right along, and she’d hired a head nurse and selected four nursing students and received another donation from one of the county’s elite. Plus she’d be seeing Dexter again. Life was good. She’d sent Vickie home at five o’clock and was preparing to leave herself when the phone rang.
“Hearts of Health and Healing Center, Dr. Buckner speaking.”
“Buck!”
She smiled, set her purse on the desk and eased into the chair. “Fear. How are you?”
“I’m good, Faye. Real good. So how are your plans coming to save the world?”
“Ha! Working on it. And speaking of, have you had a chance to review the materials I sent you?”
“I did. That’s why I’m calling. You’ve done great work, Faye. Looks like you’ve grown quite a bit over the years. Both as a doctor...and as a woman.”
“Thank you.” Faye answered casually, but her ears perked up. Is he flirting with me? At one time she’d had a huge crush on Gerald and had fantasized about the possibility of Dr. and Dr. McPherson. He was a brilliant doctor and an older man—ten years her senior. Unfortunately, he’d treated her m
ore like a little sister than a romantic interest. Before she could get up the nerve to act on her feelings, he’d announced the engagement to his high school sweetheart and left the African jungle for an American city. “So are you calling to tell me that you’ve resigned your position in Baltimore and are ready to partner with me at this clinic?”
“I haven’t gotten quite that far in the thought process, but you do present an interesting proposition. Like you, my heart is to help people, especially those less fortunate. I remember those nights when we’d sit under the stars and talk about doing this very thing. There’s something very attractive about bringing those words to life. I have several things to consider, not the least of which would be an extensive pay cut. With child support and college funds, the finances are a huge concern,” he said.
“That’s why I’m working to find an attorney who’s also well versed in grant-writing,” Faye informed him. “My benefactor gave me enough to get started and run the clinic for a while. But hopefully we’d be able to fund your salary in five-year increments through grants, donations and other creative endeavors. With the increased visibility of marketing this model to urban communities nationwide, the possibility for speaking engagements would increase, not to mention your managing that whole area of operations once the workload demands.” When he didn’t immediately respond, she added, “Besides, wouldn’t it be great to work together again?”
“Those were good years in Africa,” Gerald admitted. “And building something from the ground up brings its own unique brand of satisfaction. I’ll give the offer serious consideration, Faye.”
“While you’re thinking about it, why don’t you make plans to attend the open house celebration, scheduled for the first Saturday in October? I’d love to introduce you to the board, the staff that has been hired to date and Pastor Jack Kirtz, the man whose ministry has been so helpful in getting the clinic off the ground.”