Five minutes later, there was another knock on the door interrupting her thoughts. Alexis did not have the energy for another dramatic scene.
“Come in,” she called out bracing herself and was relieved when she saw that it was Maya.
“Girl, what the hell is wrong with Victoria? She’s in the hall calling you all kind of bitches.”
Alexis just shook her head and waved her hand as if to say, girl please. Plus it wasn’t her place to tell the business of students. “You know these kids when you don’t do something they want you to do.”
“Don’t I know it. Just the other day, my student Tina–”
Alexis interrupted her midsentence. She didn’t feel like hearing it. “Is the book club meeting still on?”
“Yeah, I came to give you my address.” Maya placed a piece of paper on Alexis’ desk. “Call me if you have any trouble finding my house.”
“That’s what MapQuest is for,” Alexis told her.
“I know that’s right.” Maya turned to leave but stopped. “Don’t forget my brother is going to stop by.”
“I won’t forget.” Alexis really didn’t feel like doing this but she made a promise. She was so glad she invited Champagne.
It was finally time to leave work. Alexis had just enough time to hit the gym for an hour, go home, shower, and call her father.
As a matter-of-fact, right now the person Alexis most wanted to see was her daddy. He’d called her the other night and sounded kind of down. When she asked him what was wrong, he told her nothing, but she didn’t believe him; she could hear something in his voice. After all, she was his “baby girl” as he liked to call her and she was his only child.
Alexis’ parents divorced once she graduated from college. That was something she didn’t understand, why wait until then. If you were unhappy prior, you should have divorced sooner.
She spoke to her mother who lived in Georgia about once every week, but she spoke to her dad who resided in Florida more often. That wasn’t anything new because even as a youngster, she went to her dad about most things. They were close and she loved it. Sometimes she even thought her mom was a bit jealous.
Alexis picked up the phone to call him then hung up. She decided to wait until she had some real time to talk. She didn’t want to rush through a phone call with her daddy. Actually, a phone call wasn’t good enough. She was going to make plans to go see him.
* * *
An hour later Alexis was at the gym. She’d just left the locker room after changing and was headed toward the treadmill. She planned on doing twenty-five minutes on the treadmill, elliptical, and stair master, and then she was out.
The second she stepped on the treadmill, she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. Alexis turned around only to find Khalil staring in her face. The last time she saw him was the week before at the club.
“Go away,” she told him as her heart raced.
“I need to talk to you.”
The last thing Alexis felt like doing was talking to or seeing Khalil’s face. She was not in the mood. “Khalil, there is nothing for us to talk about.”
He wasn’t going to give up that easily. “Please, just ten minutes, that’s all I’m asking.”
Alexis didn’t know what to do. She could tell him to go away again and if he didn’t she could always cause a scene. But what would that do other than embarrass herself. She could leave the gym or she could hear him out to try and get some closure.
She chose the closure. “Ten minutes,” she told him with her hands on her hips.
“Well, can we at least leave the floor and go in the café?”
“No.” Alexis looked at her watch. “The clock is ticking.”
Khalil saw that he had no choice, but to say what he had to standing right there and he had no problem doing that. After all, he really cared for Alexis when they were together. His intent wasn’t to hurt her or play her. Actually, he didn’t know what his intent was. When he first met Alexis, he was seriously feeling her. His wife Suzette had left him and was begging to come back home. At first he was on the prowl, then he started considering it, then he realized he didn’t want to be with her anymore anyway.
According to Suzette, she went to find herself. To him, that meant it was over. No, they hadn’t divorced but in his mind they weren’t together. Shit, his whole marriage was a sham. He met Suzette at a damn swingers club. Her family came from money, she was willing to share it and she gave good head. What was he to do other than take advantage of the opportunity? Hell, she proposed to him, it wasn’t the other way around.
Khalil knew he was wrong for proposing to Alexis while legally he was still married, but he wanted her to himself. That was the only way he figured he could guarantee it. When he and Alexis came back from their trip to Cancun, his plan was to hunt Suzette down and divorce her ass. That Thomas motherfucker got to her first and ruined everything by revealing the marriage before he had a chance to.
Eventually Khalil was going to make sure that Zyair and Thomas got theirs. He wasn’t stupid. He knew they were boys and he knew Thomas was into Alexis. He knew that even though Zyair was the one who brought Suzette to the airport that Thomas was behind it. However, for now, he wanted to try and make Alexis understand and maybe even forgive him.
“I’m waiting,” Alexis said, interrupting his thoughts.
“All right, all right,” Khalil said. “First off I want to apologize for hurting you. I didn’t mean to. I was in the process of getting divorced when we met.”
“And you couldn’t tell me that,” Alexis said.
“I was afraid you wouldn’t want to date me.”
“Were you afraid I wouldn’t date you or were you unsure as whether or not I was going to give you the ass?”
Khalil was taken aback by what she said.
“You know Khalil; you hurt me, plain and simple. You weren’t man enough to be honest with me then, why should I think you’re being honest with me now?”
Khalil reached for her arm but she snatched it back. “All I’m saying is I apologize and that I want to make it up to you. You never gave me a chance to explain my situation. You wouldn’t take my calls–”
Alexis cut him off. “Answer me one question.”
“Anything.”
“Are you still married?”
Khalil hesitated a second too long because Alexis placed her hands on his chest and pushed him back. “That’s what I thought.”
She walked away and this time Khalil didn’t bother stopping her because he knew it wouldn’t make a difference. However, he was not going to give up that easily.
“I will get her ass back, one way or the other,” he said out loud.
Chapter Forty-four
Obsession and love are not that far apart.
Thomas and Zyair were sitting in Thomas’ office. They were going out to shoot pool with the boys but there were a couple of things Thomas had to settle. One of his clients had gotten themselves arrested on a DUI.
Into the phone, Thomas said, “I’m not even going to ask you if you were drinking and driving, because I already know the answer.” It was going to be one of the two answers they almost always gave; “I only had one or two drinks” or “I don’t know why they pulled me over.” It was always one excuse after the other. Well at least this one didn’t do what another one of his clients did a few months back; try to switch seats with his passenger real quick. There is no “real quick” in climbing over someone when you’re damn near seven feet tall.
“Tomorrow you’re going to issue a statement I’m putting together, donate some money to a charity, and we’re going to move on from there.”
Thomas listened to what his client had to say, which must not have been much because a few seconds later he’d hung up the phone.
Zyair just shook his head. “I don’t know how you do it.”
“I do it for the money,” he half joked. Thomas loved his job. He loved anything sports related. He loved being able to help young men mak
e it and of course he loved the financial rewards that came with it.
“And that makes your job much easier, huh?”
“And you know this.” Thomas shut down his computer. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Man, aren’t you going to loosen up some? You all in a tie and shit. We’re going to play pool remember.”
“Yeah, I remember. What? You think I’m senile? I’ll be right back.” Thomas always kept a couple of sets of clothing at his office in the closet. His office also consisted of a private bathroom, a conference room, a small kitchen, and a seating area. He also had two people that worked for him, a receptionist and an assistant.
When they stepped outside, Thomas noticed that Zyair was following him. “Where did you park?” he asked Zyair.
“I had my driver drop me off. I figured we could ride together,” Zyair told him.
“How do you know I didn’t have plans afterward?” Thomas had tried earlier to reach Alexis with no luck.
Zyair stopped in his tracks. “Oh, shit, my bad, I didn’t even think about that. I’ll call my driver.”
Thomas bumped Zyair’s shoulder with his. “Man, I’m just playing with your ass. You don’t have to call your ‘driver’.”
“Did you think this would be us?” Zyair asked.
Thomas had no idea what he was talking about. “That what would be us?”
“That we would be two successful black men.”
Thomas looked at Zyair and smiled. “Hell yeah, I knew it. Shit, I didn’t know how it was going to happen or when it was going to happen, but I knew it.”
“Really?” Zyair wasn’t asking in disbelief. He was asking because even though Thomas had confidence oozing out of his pores when they were in college, it seemed like when they were first starting their businesses everything was a struggle for them both. To make one another feel better they would quote to each other Frederick Douglass who said, “Without struggle there is no progress.”
“Yep, that’s why I tried so hard. I knew eventually it would pay off.”
“I hear that,” Zyair said. Zyair knew of Thomas’ meager beginnings. After all, he was his best friend; therefore he knew that Thomas beat the odds.
As they were putting on their seat belts, Thomas said, “But you know what?”
“What?”
“There was a time when as long as I had money, as long as I could buy whatever I wanted and whoever I wanted, I was happy, but that’s getting old man. I’m ready to settle down and be with one woman and share what I have with one woman.”
“And you want that woman to be Alexis?”
“I do, man. I sure do.”
“What is it about her man? You’ve been feeling her for a couple of years. She never gave you the time of the day, yet, that didn’t deter you. I’m trying to figure out what kind of voodoo she put on your ass.”
Thomas laughed. “Nah man, there’s just something about her that gets me going.”
Zyair didn’t respond, because although Alexis was fine, he knew that in the past Thomas’ women were finer, sexier, and more experienced.
They drove the rest of the way to the pool hall in silence, each consumed with their own thoughts.
Zyair was thinking about what transpired the night before, when Champagne’s cell phone was going off. She was in the bathroom taking a shower and normally he would just let it buzz. But for some reason, a reason he still couldn’t put his finger on, he picked it up and saw missed call. He knew he should have just put the phone back down, but he couldn’t stop himself. He pressed the button to see who it was. On received calls Sharon’s name showed up over four times.
Why the hell is she calling my woman so much? Champagne told me they rarely speak and here she’s called her four times in one day.
Zyair couldn’t decide if he wanted to bring it up and ask her what the deal was because then she’d know he’d been snooping.
When Champagne came out of the bathroom, she didn’t even bother to look at her phone. She was looking so sexy in one of his T-shirts that he decided to leave it alone, at least until after they made love. And, the way he was going to make love to her, if she even had an inkling of wanting another woman, it wouldn’t be for long. Sometimes he regretted sharing the fantasy of seeing her with another woman because seeing how much she enjoyed it brought up some insecurities he wasn’t even aware of.
“Come here,” he told her.
Champagne was able to tell by his voice that it was about to be on. “Why?” she teased.
“I want to taste you.”
Zyair didn’t have to say another word, because the next thing you know, Champagne was lying on the bed, legs spread and ready to go.
Zyair laughed. “Aren’t you eager?”
“I’ve been thinking about this all day actually.”
I wonder why? Is it because of Sharon? Zyair wondered as he pushed Champagne’s legs apart and bent his head down between her thighs to take in her scent.
Champagne grabbed his head as she tried to force his face into her pussy, but Zyair resisted. He continued to kiss and nibble on her thighs.
“Stop playing,” Champagne told him.
Zyair snickered and placed his tongue on the inside of her labia, running his tongue up and down. He then pressed his chin on the bottom of her pussy, applying pressure. He knew that drove her crazy sometimes. Then he put his tongue as deep inside her pussy as he could.
Champagne’s hips started shaking and he knew that his tongue had hit one of her spots. He pressed on the spot with his tongue and then bought the tip of his tongue to her clitoris. Zyair knew that the clitoris had hundreds of nerves so he licked her clitoris from underneath to the tip and back underneath.
Champagne tried to grab his head and pull his mouth off her. “I don’t want to cum yet.”
Zyair wasn’t listening. He was in control and he planned on staying in control. He grabbed ahold of her wrist and held on tight until he felt her body begin to buckle. He knew the time was near, so he placed one of his fingers inside her just barely. He moved it in and out and continued to lick.
“I’m about to cum!” Champagne moaned.
Zyair waited until he could feel her juices flowing down his chin. When she finished quivering he looked up at her, smiled and thought to himself, Ain’t no need for a woman. Shit, I am the man.
Chapter Forty-five
Follow your gut instinct; you never know where it may lead you. It might take you right where you need to be.
When they pulled into the neighborhood, Alexis couldn’t help but wonder how Maya could afford to live in an upscale area on a teacher’s salary. Baldwin Estates homes started at three hundred thousand dollars. Alexis looked around and noticed that most of the driveways were empty. She wondered if everyone was out running errands on a Saturday afternoon. Normally that’s what she did, especially when it was warm outside. Fall was here and winter was just around the corner. Alexis quickly wondered if she’d have someone to cuddle up with in the winter.
“Damn, your girl must have it going on,” Champagne said.
“I know right. I wonder how she does it?”
“Shit, ask her.”
“Now you know I don’t be all up in people’s business like that.”
Champagne was looking at the house numbers. “There it is right there.” She was pointing straight ahead toward a brick home that from the outside if one had to guess was over 2,500 square feet.
“Damn, her shit looks better than mine,” Alexis noted as she parked the car.
“You sure this girl is cool?” Champagne wanted to know, “because you know how women are, especially when they don’t know you.”
“Girl, don’t start with that. That’s the problem right there with us women. We talk about one another instead of to one another. We’re suspicious on each other instead of being–”
“Oh, Lord, there you go on with your sisterhood, can’t we all just get along speech.”
Alexis laughed and opened her car
door, “Girl, come on.”
As they walked up the walkway, Champagne asked her if she’d talked to Thomas lately.
“Yes, we talk briefly almost every other day.”
“And?”
“And nothing, we’re just friends.”
“Well, according to Zyair, he wants to be more.”
Changing the subject, Alexis told Champagne what transpired between her and Khalil at the gym.
“He’s such an asshole. Don’t get caught up in his web again girl.”
That was something Alexis didn’t have an intention on doing.
It was at that moment that the front door opened. Standing before them was one of the finest, yet thuggish men Alexis had seen in a long time. He was over six feet tall and had on a white T-shirt that fit so you could see every muscle, every cut and some of the packs on his stomach. His hair was in cornrows and his face hairless. His complexion was like chocolate and just as smooth.
“And there she is,” he greeted them. “Just the lady I wanted to meet.”
He pulled Alexis into him giving her a hug, which caught her by surprise. In the meantime, Champagne was standing there wondering what the hell was going on and who was this fine specimen standing before them.
“And you,” he pulled Champagne into his arms giving her a hug as well. “I won’t leave you out.”
After he finished giving out hugs, he ushered them in.
“I take it you’re the brother,” Alexis said.
“Gavin,” he told her.
“Champagne”, Champagne said, “and it’s obvious you know that this is Alexis.”
Alexis nudged Champagne.
“They’re having the meeting in the living room. It’s straight ahead. Alexis, I’ll speak with you afterward.”
Alexis and Champagne watched him walk off. All Champagne could say was, “Wow.”
When they entered the living room, all the women looked up. Alexis did a quick count of twelve and that included Maya who was walking up to them. “Everyone this is my coworker, Alexis and . . .” She looked at Champagne, who told them her name. “Alexis and Champagne, this is everyone. Y’all can introduce yourselves.”
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