by Honey
“Jill. Jill. Jill,” was Zach’s chant. Her name had become his one-word love song.
She responded with a wordless ballad of hums and sensuous moans. Jill was on the ride of her life. After several moments of the most exhilarating sexual give-and-take moments she had ever experienced, pleasurable sensations washed over every inch of Jill’s flesh. The feelings she felt took her breath away. She closed her eyes and purred like a kitten in Zach’s ear when she felt the first spasm in her core and a tingling inside. Then waves of sheer ecstasy captured her and took her as a willing prisoner.
Zach surrendered to his passion as well and released drops of priceless treasure between Jill’s contracting walls. Then he turned off the water, which had become cold, and cradled Jill close to his chest. He lifted her, then stepped over her clothes and shoes and carried her to his bed, water from their naked bodies creating a wet trail behind them on the carpet. Zach searched the closet and found the blanket he’d covered Jill with the first time they’d made love. They settled under it, spooning one another, and fell asleep in each other’s arms.
The next morning, when Jill woke up in Zach’s bed, he was standing in front of the mirror, combing his shiny black curls. He was shirtless and was wearing just a pair of green scrub pants and white leather Adidas tennis shoes. Jill thought he looked too damn sexy for words. Then the shower scene from the night before replayed in her mind, and she smiled.
“What time is it?” she asked.
“It’s ten fifteen.” Zach left the mirror and sat on the edge of the bed. He kissed Jill on her lips. “How did you sleep?”
“Quite well,” she said and blushed. “What about you?”
“Mmm, I’ve never slept better in my life. I cooked breakfast. Your plate is in the microwave. I’ll be home around five. I have to swing by to pick up Nahima from her mother. Do you need me to bring you anything?”
Jill laughed and sat up in the bed. “You owe me a pair of panties.”
Chapter Eighteen
Ayla stormed into the employees’ break room with her nose in the air. The small group that had gathered around the television was surprised to see her, because she normally didn’t mingle with the support staff at all. The technicians, nurse’s assistants, and orderlies thought she was a snob; and that assumption was justified, as far as they were concerned, by her actions. The environmental services team stayed out her way, and so did almost everyone else.
Ayla did a sweep around the room with her eyes. “Has anyone seen Zachary King?” she asked no one in particular but everyone in general. She turned slowly and eyed each person, but they all ignored her. She rolled her eyes to the ceiling and sighed. Then she rushed out of the room in a huff.
A table full of housekeepers in the break room started laughing and slapping hands. Mrs. Ida Bell Black was the ringleader. She was a member of Refuge Pentecostal Temple. She had known Zach all his life, and she couldn’t stand the uppity Dr. Ayla Fitzpatrick at all. She was beneath him as far as Ida Bell was concerned.
“Humph,” Ida Bell said. “Ain’t nobody seen Zach today, but my daughter Tina said she saw him last night, doing a two-step with a beautiful chocolate girl at the reggae club. It’s the same girl I told y’all he’s been bringing to church with him for weeks.”
Ayla’s blood began to boil. She had been on her way back inside the break room to get a diet soda from the drink machine when she heard Ida Bell’s announcement. She rounded the corner and headed for the elevators. She pressed the lit arrow pointing down so she could get a decent cup of black coffee from the cafeteria a few floors below. And low and behold, Mr. King, in the flesh, emerged from the center elevator just as she was about step inside it.
“Good morning,” Zach offered and flashed a friendly smile.
Ayla checked her watch and looked him up and down. As always, Zach had a bagged lunch in his hand. “Uh, it’s twelve minutes after twelve. I think the morning has definitely passed. The proper greeting would be good afternoon.” She folded her arms across her chest and pinned Zach with questioning eyes.
“Good afternoon, Dr. Fitzpatrick. Isn’t it a lovely fall day?” Zach pushed past Ayla, and she marched right behind him as he headed to the break room to place his lunch inside the refrigerator.
“Hey, Zach!” Ida Bell shouted when he strolled in. “Dr. Fitzpatrick was hunting for you earlier.” When Ayla appeared, she added, “Dr. Fitzpatrick, there’s Zach!” She smirked at her own cattiness, and the entire break room erupted with laughter. Ida Bell and her crew vacated their table and left the room, still giggling and shaking their heads at the events unfolding before Ms. High and Mighty, Dr. Fitzpatrick.
“Where have you been?” Ayla demanded as she closed the distance between herself and Zach. “I’ve been looking for you all morning. I have play-off tickets for tomorrow night. I know, I know,” she said, raising both hands in the air. “I detest baseball, but I know how much you love it, so I got tickets. Dinner and a private after-party in my bedroom are included.”
“No can do. I’ll have Nahima tomorrow, as I do every weekend.”
“You’ll have Nahima, Zach . . . but who will have you? Is it that Jamaican slut you brought here, the one everyone is talking about? Is she the reason why you can’t make it to work on time? Were you too tired from dancing with Ms. Jamaica all night that you couldn’t get your ass out of bed this morning? And you take her to church with you too! What’s that about? She can be around Princess Nahima, but I can’t! What the hell is going on with you, Zach?”
“We will not discuss my personal life here, Ayla.” Zach glanced around the break room and saw curious eyes watching them. “If you have time around two o’clock, I’ll gladly meet you in the cafeteria, where we can have a civilized conversation. Until them, stop riding my back! It’s not a good look for you. You don’t wear desperation well, Doc.”
* * *
Venus closed her grade book and removed her reading glasses. The peace and quiet of her planning period was greatly appreciated on a busy Friday afternoon. She’d been under so much stress lately. Since that phone message Jay had left on her voice mail, things at home between her and Charles had become strained. He wanted to know her every move, and he had begun to question her relationship with Zach, the man who Charles believed was Nahima’s biological father. When Venus had first met Charles, her heart had told her he was a special guy. He hadn’t judged her when she’d shared with him her past with Jay, and he had readily accepted Nahima as if she were his own.
No one, not even Zach, had expected Jay to ever move back to Atlanta. She had sworn off her hometown and had jumped at the opportunity to work abroad, wishing to put as many miles between herself and Venus and Nahima as possible. Jay’s return couldn’t have come at a more inconvenient time. Three months away from her wedding day, Venus was struggling with Charles’s insecurities and distrust. He’d never had an issue with Zach before, and there was no reason for him to have one now. Charles had been led to believe that Nahima was the product of artificial insemination. Venus had explained that because Jay wanted to have biological ties to the child, Zach’s sperm had been used to fertilize her eggs.
Charles had been deceived on so many levels that it was scandalous. He had no idea that the chance of Venus giving him a child was slim to none. And he was totally oblivious to Nahima’s true pedigree. He believed she belonged to Venus and Zach, when she was actually Jay and Whitaker’s daughter.
“Ms. Lawson, you have a delivery in the office. Ms. Lawson, please pick up a delivery in the office.”
Venus’s mind snapped from the troubles of her complicated life at the sound of the secretary’s voice over the intercom. The clock on the wall said she had fifteen more minutes before her twenty-five rowdy children would return from PE. Venus did a power walk out of her classroom and down the hall. When she reached the office, some teachers and Mrs. Wilcox, the secretary, were oohing and aahing over a beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers in a crystal vase. The ladies turned and smiled
when they noticed Venus standing behind them.
“Well, somebody must have certainly done something right last night to get these,” Mrs. Wilcox whispered. She lifted the vase from the counter. “These are for you, Ms. Lawson.”
Venus was stunned. She had no idea why Charles had sent her flowers. After he’d pitched a fit last night because she had forgotten to record a purchase in their joint checking account, he had slept on the sofa in the den. And they hadn’t even acknowledged each other’s presence in the kitchen before she left for work this morning. Venus smiled and had a dreamy look in her eyes because she figured Charles had sent the flowers as a peace offering after his unnecessary tirade.
“Wow,” she said, reaching for the vase. She held the gorgeous arrangement to her nose and took in its sweet fragrance. “My Charles is so thoughtful. Thank you, Mrs. Wilcox.”
Venus had a bright smile on her face and a little pep in her step as she rushed back to her classroom to read the attached card. Her heart was thumping fast, and she felt tingly all over. As soon as she sat in the chair behind her desk, she tore the small envelope open and removed the single panel card.
“Oh my God! No!” she yelled and dropped the card. “Why is this happening?”
Jay had sent the flowers to Venus. On the card she had requested that they meet in one of the restaurants at the Seven Seas at six thirty that evening. Jay promised if Venus would meet with her just once, she would never contact her again.
* * *
At two o’clock sharp, Ayla sat restlessly at the table in the hospital cafeteria that Zach and Dex had claimed as their personal property. She looked toward the door and then glanced down at her watch, wondering where the man of the hour was. Impatient and annoyed, she stood up to leave. Just then Zach strutted in, exuding raw swagger. Ayla drew in a quick intake of air to steady her pulse. It was going to be hard for her to stay mad at him because he was so damn fine. But she was about to give it her best shot.
“So you came,” she said as she sat back down.
“I invited you to meet me here so we could talk. Why would I not show up? Besides, a brother has to eat.” Zach took the seat opposite Ayla and opened his lunch bag. He pulled out a Tupperware plate with a lid on it and utensils. Steam rose from his food when he removed the lid. “What’s up, Doc?”
Ayla was too busy checking out Zach’s Jamaican meal of jerk pork and peas and rice. She wanted to nut up right then and there, but she held it together. She didn’t need to show her ghetto side in a cafeteria full of nosy-ass people. After all, at the end of the day, she’d still be a doctor, with a reputation to protect.
“I’m just trying to figure out what’s going on with us, Zach. We don’t even talk anymore. And it’s been months since we . . . you know, hooked up. You don’t have time for me, but the buzz around here is you’ve been seen all over town with your sister’s lover. What’s up with that?”
“Like I told you before, Jay and Jill have moved to Atlanta, and they’re staying with me indefinitely. My sister works a lot. She’s the executive marketing manager at the Seven Seas Hotel in that huge international complex near the airport. That’s a big deal for a black woman, so her shit has to pop at all times. I take care of Jill. She’s new to this country. I’m all she’s got.”
“And how do you take care of her, Zach?” Ayla’s eyes narrowed, and she cocked her head to the side, challenging him.
“In every damn way!” Zach was tempted to say. But instead, he placed his fork on the edge of his plate and held Ayla’s gaze. “You’re attractive, smart, and independent to a fault. I see how brothers around here watch you strut your stuff. Even the Asians and dudes from the Middle East do a double take when you’re on the stroll. You’ve got a fan club full of men sniffing at your heels, Doc. I’m not the guy for you. What we were doing for the past year and a half was cool, but it’s time to pull the plug on it. We’ve talked about this before.”
“Damn it, Zach. I don’t want to marry you! I just want things to go back to the way they used to be. Remember how we used to smash once or twice a week? You’d cook dinner, and I’d take care of breakfast. We’d take in a movie here or have dinner there. That’s all I want. I miss our friendship.”
“We’ll always be friends, Doc, but just not friends. I’m sorry. I’m not in the same place I was when we first met. I told you I wasn’t gonna hold you down, and you promised me the same. A lot has changed for me.”
“I see,” Ayla said flatly. “You don’t want to screw me anymore, so that means you’re screwing some other chick. I know you, Zach. Mr. Wonderful is definitely thrashing his thunder on someone. You’re not the kind of man who’ll go without. Do you know what I think?”
“I have no idea.” Zach leaned back in the chair and folded his arms across his chest.
“I smell some shit in the air, and it is foul as hell. I think you’re screwing Jamaican Jill behind your sister’s back. Uh-huh, that’s it! Your nasty ass is sticking what Jay’s been licking. That Jamaican bitch . . .”
Zach reached across the table and grabbed Ayla’s hand as she pointed an accusatory finger in his direction. “You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. Lay off Jill. She’s innocent. You don’t know a damn thing about her. All you know is I won’t ever fuck you again. I’m out.”
Zach released Ayla’s hand and gathered his lunch utensils and the Tupperware plate and lid. Then with coolness, he exited the cafeteria without a fleeting backward glance.
Chapter Nineteen
Venus opened the door before Zach had a chance to ring the doorbell. She looked stylish and sophisticated in a lavender pantsuit. She smelled good too. But Venus seemed distracted and in a rush to get rid of Nahima. The customary small talk between her and Zach was cut short, and she kept checking her watch. He got the unspoken message that there was someplace she needed to be soon.
“Have a good time wherever you’re going tonight, Venus. Remind Charles again why he’s such a lucky brother. We men need a shot of reassurance every now and then.” Zach kissed her on the cheek and left her on the stoop. She stood waving at him and Nahima as they walked to his SUV.
“Do you know where my mommy is going, Uncle Z?” Nahima climbed in her car seat and raised her arms so Zach could secure her in the seat.
“She’s going on a romantic date with Charles, pumpkin.”
“No she’s not, silly goose.” Nahima giggled at her uncle’s wrong answer. “She’s going to the meeting at the hotel. I heard her telling her BFF, Janice, on the telephone. Mommy said she’s gotta go to one meeting at the hotel, and she won’t ever have to go again.”
Zach closed Nahima’s door and looked back at Venus’s now empty stoop. He didn’t like the sound of what he had just heard, but it all made sense. Venus had acted strange and had seemed anxious for them to leave. Zach needed to know if she was going to the Seven Seas to meet with Jay, and if she was, he wanted to know why. He got into the SUV and took out his cell phone to dial Venus’s number. She came out the front door at the same time Charles pulled into the driveway. Zach pressed the phone to his chin, realizing the matter was out if his hands.
* * *
Pizza, ice cream, and Disney movies were on the agenda for Friday night at Uncle Z’s house. He ordered a large pizza with double pepperoni for himself and Nahima. And for Jill, he ordered a small one with sausage and mushrooms.
“Can you please pay the delivery guy when he comes, baby?” Zach handed Jill a couple of bills, then turned his gaze to Nahima. “I’m going upstairs to give Nahima a bath.” He snapped his fingers and faced Jill again. He pulled more cash from his wallet and a piece of paper. “This is for you. I think you should have money in your purse at all times, and you need your own account. We’ll go to the bank one day next week and open one for you, Ms. Bessette. The cash is for your family. Tomorrow we can swing by Western Union and make the transaction.”
“I don’t know what to say, Zachary. You are very kind to me. Thank you.”
&n
bsp; “You’re very welcome. Let’s go, pumpkin! It’s time for a bubble bath and your princess pajamas!”
“I’m coming! I’m coming! I’m coming!” Nahima sang.
Jill watched Nahima hop like a bunny up the stairs behind Zach. They were so in love. He was a caring and committed uncle to his niece, and he was also a nice man. Jill wanted Zach to be her man, but she didn’t know how to tell him. If only she could speak with Roy back at the resort. He could teach her how to tell Zach what she felt in her heart. She would give him a call early in the morning, before sunrise.
* * *
Jay stood and pulled out the chair for Venus and then took the seat across from her.
“You’re just what the doctor ordered. Life must be good for you, V. You look amazing.”
“Hello, Jay,” Venus said coolly. “I’m here. What do you wanna talk about?” She took in her surroundings.
“Let’s have something to drink first.” Jay snapped her fingers at a passing waiter. He stopped at their table. “Alonzo, give me the usual please, and the lady will have a glass of merlot.”
Venus looked at the entrance to the restaurant and smirked. “I’ll also have a Hennessy and Coke and a glass of water please, Alonzo. Thank you.”
Jay placed both elbows on the table and leaned forward. “I’ve never known you to drink anything heavier than wine. Go ahead and get drunk, baby. I can put you up in a fabulous complimentary suite for the night.”
“That won’t be necessary,” said a deep male voice. “She’s not staying here.” Charles reached down and placed his hand on Venus’s shoulder. She touched his hand and rubbed it gently.