by Pinky Dior
“Capturing a beautiful moment?” he asked sarcastically.
Her heart dropped and her face turned red as she laughed. “You’re funny.” Mercedes shook her head. “I’ll have a Cuban Mojito.”
“I’ll settle for what my lady is having,” he smiled, copying Mercedes. “So Mercedes, what brings you to Cuba?” he asked.
“Well, I have some business to take care of.”
“Oh yeah? And what kind of business is that?”
Mercedes shot him a glare. He was asking a little bit too much, and she didn’t like that. “It’s personal business, between me, myself, and I.”
Carlito lifted his hand up and chuckled. “All right, boss lady.” He sipped on his drink.
“Plus, I wanted to get away from the city.”
“So where are you from?”
“I’m from New York City, baby,” Mercedes said proudly.
“Really? I have never been there before. What’s your nationality? You look like you’re Cuban,” he guessed by looking at her facial features and the body to match.
“I am actually Cuban. My mother is half Cuban and my father is black.”
“That’s a nice mix. No wonder you are so beautiful.” He stared at her and looked at her lips as he licked his own. “Your mother’s from here?” he questioned.
“Yes,” Mercedes said.
“That’s cool.” He bopped his head.
Mercedes looked down at her phone and saw that Hazel was texting her and asking her where she was. “I’m so sorry, I got to go. Thanks for the drink.”
“You’re welcome and thank you for your company.” He smiled. “When will I see you again?”
“I don’t know.” Mercedes shrugged her shoulders.
“Can I take you out to dinner?” he asked, as she started to walk away.
Mercedes stopped in her tracks. “Maybe in another world.” Mercedes smiled as she walked away, leaving Carlito sitting there at the bar all alone.
“Oh, we will meet again.” He took a shot of rum and placed the glass on the table.
***
The next morning, Mercedes was asleep when she heard the sudden knock at the door. She rolled over in the bed, placing the pillow back over her head, trying to block out the sounds of the hard knocks. She was too tired to get up, but the knocks continued.
“Housekeeping!” a female voice said through the door.
After several minutes of continuous knocking, Mercedes couldn’t deal with it. She finally slammed the pillow beside her, threw the covers off her body, and headed over to the door.
“Give me a minute, damn!” Mercedes yelled.
Mercedes snatched her white robe off the bathroom door and put it on. She grabbed her hair from inside the robe and pulled it out over to one side of her shoulder. She walked over to the door and was about to start yelling, but when she looked through the peephole, there stood the maid, smiling from ear to ear. Mercedes opened the door and the Spanish maid holding a bouquet of red and white roses, and she had a little cart with filled with food.
“Are you Mercedes?” The woman read off a card that she held in her hand. She looked back up and stared at Mercedes as she waited for a response.
“Yes, that is me.”
“Well, someone sent this to you. Enjoy; have a nice day.” The maid handed her the flowers.
“Who sent these?” Mercedes walked behind the maid, as she rolled the cart of food into the hotel room.
“It’s from a very special, handsome man.” The little woman winked at Mercedes and smiled as she walked out.
Mercedes closed the door behind her, sniffed the roses and smiled. She didn’t know whom they were from. She continued walking into the room and sat down at the table, with the food right in front of her. There was a bagel, orange juice, fresh-looking strawberries, kiwi, grapes, and many other fruits arranged into an edible fruit bowl. Mercedes picked up a couple of grapes and ate them as she looked through the roses, looking for a card. She finally found it. It said: “Are you willing to take me up on my offer?”
Mercedes smirked and closed the card. She placed it back on the table as she dug into the fruit, enjoying every bite. As Mercedes was enjoying her food, there was a loud knock on her door. She heard her girls talking and laughing. Mercedes placed the roses on the vanity dresser, walked over to the door, and opened it.
“Good morning.” Mercedes smiled as she greeted her girls.
“Damn, girl, you took long enough!” Shateeya said as she stumbled in. She looked as if she was still hammered from the previous night.
“She’s still hung over from last night.” Hazel confirmed; she shook her head as they helped her walk in and sat her down on the bed. “Ooh, girl, who brought you these beautiful flowers?” Hazel stared over and saw the dozen red and white roses.
“And who brought you all this delicious-looking food?” Chamari asked. She walked over and started picking up the grapes, eating them.
“His name is Carlito.” Mercedes smiled.
“Oh shit, Mercedes got herself a little Cuba-Rican.” Shateeya’s words were slurred.
“Oh, shut up with your drunken ass!” Mercedes laughed. Shateeya was sprawled out on the bed, looking a hot mess.
“Is it that hot guy from last night?” Hazel asked.
“Yeah, the one who was flirting with you in the bar?” Chamari added.
“Yes, him.” A smile appeared across her face. She blushed as they continued talking about him. “I don’t know him like that, but he’s alright.”
“Mm-hmm. Girl, look at you, that nigga got you blushing all over! You must be feeling him. Look at you, girl!” Chamari smiled as she continued snacking on the food.
“Yeah, I am a little bit. But you, on the other hand…I see you’re feeling all my food.” The girls chuckled.
A knock on the door interrupted them.
“First it was the maid, then y’all. Who’s next?” Mercedes threw up her hands, aggravated by all the people knocking on her door.
When Mercedes opened up the door, there was a guy in a red suit with a rolling rack filled with clothes in clear bags. Mercedes stood there with a confused look on her face. She watched him take a bag from the rack. He looked at a piece of paper and asked, “Are you Mercedes?”
“Yes, that is me.”
“This is with regards from Mr. Sanchez.”
Mercedes’s eyebrows arched up, because she didn’t know of any Mr. Sanchez.
The man saw that she had a confused look on her face; he cleared his throat and said, “Carlito sent this.” He handed her the bag, which had a card attached to it.
Mercedes turned around and headed back into the hotel room. All of her girls were staring at her as she placed the bag on the bed and opened up the card. It read, I hope that I didn’t scare you off. I want to take a beautiful queen like you out to dinner, and if you accept, be ready at 8:00. Sincerely, Carlito. Mercedes shook her head. As soon as she looked up from the card, the girls were all staring at her.
“Well, what’s it say?” Hazel asked inquisitively.
“Carlito asked me to go on a date with him tonight.”
“Girl, you better stop playing and go out with that man!” Chamari smiled. “What’s in the bag?”
“I don’t know.” Mercedes examined the bag and picked it up, unzipping it.
It was a beautiful, cream-colored stretch silk, strapless dress made by Nichole Miller. The girls’ eyes lit up, because they knew the dress was in the thousands of dollars range. It had to have cost some money. It came with a pair of stilettos to compliment the dress. Carlito was definitely going hard and proving to her that he wanted to take her out. She had no choice, but to say yes.
“This is so beautiful,” Mercedes said, eyeing the dress.
“That is a very nice dress, Mercedes. You better go out with him, or I will.” Hazel playfully nudged Mercedes in the arm.
“Why wouldn’t I? Whatever happens in Cuba stays in Cuba.” Mercedes winked at them and they all bu
sted out into laughter.
“You are a nasty hoe!” Shateeya cracked herself up, while everybody else just looked at her and shook her head in disgust.
“Anyways, we’re going to be heading out, since you got plans with Mr. Right. We were going to see if you wanted to hit up the stores with us,” Hazel said.
“I’ll pass. I’m going to just relax for a while. Sorry.” Mercedes felt bad as she apologized.
“Girl, don’t worry about it. We still have a couple of more days to do some more stuff,” Hazel reminded her.
“Can I take some with me?” Chamari asked, referring to the food.
“Sure, just leave me a little something.” Mercedes chuckled. “All right, catch y’all later.”
“Later,” the girls said, as they headed out the door.
Mercedes covered her mouth as she tried to stop herself from laughing at Shateeya. She was still hung over from last night. She was definitely a lightweight.
Mercedes closed the door behind them as she silently jumped up and down. Mercedes smiled as she eyed the dress. It lay perfectly on the bed. She knew she was going to look killer in that dress with her gorgeous body. Mercedes was thinking about how she was going to wear her hair that day, but the hotel phone rang and quickly interrupted her. Mercedes rushed over to the phone and quickly answered it.
“Hello?”
“Hey, gorgeous, did you like the roses?”
“I loved everything that you surprised me with.” Mercedes sat down in the chair, ate a couple of strawberries, and twirled around in the chair.
“That’s good to hear. So are you coming out with me today?”
“Yes, I will take you up on that offer. How could a girl ever say no?”
“Plenty of girls turned me down before,” Carlito assured her.
“Oh, please!” Mercedes giggled. “I just thought you was trying to get an easy pass yesterday.” Mercedes and Carlito chuckled.
“Sorry about that, ma. I just wanted to do something special for a beautiful woman like yourself. I already made some reservations for you to get your hair all pretty, and to get your nails and toes done, before I take you to dinner later.”
Mercedes didn’t know what to say; she was speechless.
“I know that this is all a surprise to you, but I want to treat you right and show you a good time, ma,” he informed her.
Mercedes and Carlito confirmed a date for that night. She hung up with him and quickly threw something on. She headed downstairs to the salon and spa, where she got beautiful for him.
***
The night was young and the stars glistened in the dark sky. Mercedes sat across the table from Carlito on his yacht as they dug into their delicious Cuban food. Mercedes looked beautiful and her face was rich and glowing, as always. She wore the amazing, cream-colored cocktail dress with the matching shoes that Carlito had bought her. Her hair was pressed out to the bone and fell flawlessly down the sides of her face. She kept it simple but cute, with some diamond earrings and the diamond bracelet on her arm.
“This is really delicious.” Mercedes licked her lips.
“Yes, it is. Cuban food is delicious.”
“I’m half-black and half-Cuban, remember?”
He smiled. “No wonder you’re so beautiful,” he complimented her.
“So what do you want from me?” Mercedes asked bluntly.
Carlito wasn’t prepared to answer that question. “Well, you’re very beautiful, Mercedes. I just want to show you a good time while you are here, and show you a side of Cuba that you never saw before.”
“Interesting. I just wanted to see where your head was at.”
“I’ll show you where my head is at.” Carlito grabbed her hand and planted a wet kiss on her hand. He looked up, smiling at her. A chill went down her spine as she eyed Carlito. He had similar features to Emilio, but she kept it to herself, because she didn’t want him to take that as a sign of disrespect, saying that he reminded her of another man.
Carlito had sexy lips that were irresistible. Mercedes bit down on the bottom of her lips, wanting to kiss them.
“Are you ready to go?” Carlito asked.
“Yes, but I’m getting a little tired.”
“Well, I have a little spa of my own. Follow me, right this way.”
Mercedes followed behind him as they headed downstairs on the yacht and entered a big bedroom.
“This is beautiful.” Mercedes scanned the room. There was a tub filled with bubbles and white rose petals inside and outside the bath, leading to her feet. “How can you afford a yacht—especially one like this?” Mercedes inquired as she turned around, staring at Carlito.
He cleared his throat and smiled. “Don’t worry about that. Just know that it’s legal,” he lied as he winked at her. “I’ll be in the other room watching TV. Do as you please.”
Mercedes was feeling a little loose from the wine she had earlier. She stepped out of her dress and it dropped to the floor. She wasn’t wearing panties or a bra. Mercedes stepped into the warm, fulfilling water that was foaming with bubbles. The warm water immediately relaxed her body. She was in a state of euphoria.
Cuban music filled the room as Mercedes danced to the music, moving her shoulders from side to side, with her eyes closed and her back pressed against the tub. She didn’t even know Carlito was standing in the doorway watching her until he chuckled.
Mercedes opened her eyes and started smiling. “Sneaking up on me?”
“Yeah, sort of…” He walked in and sat on the edge of the tub. “Let me see your feet.”
Mercedes busted out laughing. Carlito reached in the water, seeing that she wasn’t going to give him her feet. He grabbed her feet and started gently massaging them.
“Ooh, that feels good,” she cooed.
“How about this?” Carlito bent down and sucked on her toes slowly and passionately.
Mercedes moaned as he licked and sucked. “Mmm! I’m ready to get out.”
Carlito stopped what he was doing and handed her a towel, without getting off the edge of the tub. Mercedes stepped out and he got a full glimpse of her sexy body. He licked his lips. He stood up and got closer to Mercedes as they both stared in each other’s eyes. Mercedes didn’t want to have sex with him, but she was tempted and horny. He wrapped his arms around her waist and reached in for a kiss. Mercedes kissed him back. They moved into the room as Mercedes gently fell back on the bed, and Carlito started placing kisses all over her damp body.
He placed his head between her legs and began licking her pussy slowly. Mercedes squirmed as she moved around, trying to fight the feelings.
“Damn, this feels good,” Mercedes moaned.
After eating her out, Carlito placed on a condom and inserted himself inside Mercedes, slowly stroking her pussy, making love to her. Stroke after stroke, moan after moan, Mercedes was feeling much too good. She almost accidently called out Emilio’s name. Mercedes bit down on her tongue as she held Carlito’s back. He made sweet and passionate love to her as if they had known each other for years.
Chapter Twenty-seven
The yacht party
Mercedes stood in front of the mirror as she applied her pink MAC lip-gloss to her full lips. Rubbing the lipstick in, Mercedes grabbed the brush and combed down her hair, and it flawlessly fell down the side of her face. She placed on her long diamond earrings, along with a thick diamond wristband. A sudden knock at the door interrupted Mercedes, and stopped her from what she was doing.
“Who is it?” she hollered, fixing her diamond earrings, which were stuck on her hair.
“It’s me, Carlito.”
Mercedes opened the door and saw Carlito standing there, dressed in a nice tuxedo with a bouquet of red roses in his hand.
“Oh shoot! I totally forgot we had a dinner date tonight,” Mercedes apologized.
“It’s okay. You look beautiful though,” he complimented her. “These are for you, gorgeous.” He handed her the flowers and she took them and smiled.
“Thank you, Carlito.”
“So where are you going?” he asked.
“Well, this guy, Vicente, is having a party on his yacht, and he invited me and my girls to come through.”
“All right, that’s cool. I guess I will be going now.” Carlito kissed her on the cheek and turned to walk away.
Mercedes felt bad. She didn’t know if she could just invite people, but it was her mistake; she had forgotten about their date. “Carlito?” Mercedes called out. He turned around, holding his hands in his pockets. “Would you like to be my date for tonight?”
“Sure, I would love that.” Carlito smiled.
“Come in.” Mercedes turned around as her long dress dragged across the hotel carpet. She sat on the edge of the bed, with the phone pressed to her ear. Mercedes called the other girls, informing them that the limo was outside waiting for them. The girls and Carlito crowded the elevator as they went from the top floor all the way to the first floor. All eyes were on them as they walked out of the hotel, their heels clicked across the shiny marble floor. They stepped into the limo and were on their way to the dock to meet Vicente.
Mercedes lifted up her dress as she stepped out of the car, attempting to avoid stepping on it. Carlito walked beside her and wrapped his arm around her, as Mercedes looked at him and smiled. As they got on the yacht, Vicente spotted Mercedes. He called her over, catching her attention. Mercedes grabbed Carlito’s hand as she walked over to Vicente.
“Hi, Vicente, this is my date for tonight.” She chuckled. “Vicente, this is Carlito; Carlito, this is Vicente.”
Carlito played the role and went along with Mercedes, as if he wasn’t aware of anything that was going on. “It’s nice to meet you, Vicente.” Carlito extended his hand. The men firmly shook hands and gave each other a wink. Mercedes was too busy to see it. She was looking around, amazed by the beautiful yacht. It reminded her of the one her father had thrown her eighteenth birthday party on.
“You have such a beautiful woman. Are you two dating?”
“No,” Mercedes said quickly.
“Are you fucking?” Vicente asked seriously. He looked at Mercedes, who had a shocked expression on her face. Vicente busted out into laughter. “I’m just kidding, just joking around.”