by Audrey Storm
“I know but I have some pretty great ideas,” he said with a smile.
“Clearly.” He nodded.
“Clearly,” he echoed.
He looked into her brown eyes for a long second before he moved closer to her.
“You know I never wanted to leave you, right?” he asked in a soft voice and she shook her head.
“Honestly, I have no idea why you left.”
“My father forced me out,” he said in a soft voice.
“Why?” Shannon asked.
“That time he made you fall down the stairs…” he started before she shook her head.
“I slipped and fell, Nate,” she said.
“You were younger then so maybe you don’t remember, Shannon. I was there and I am telling you that he pushed you.” The tone in his voice said it all. Just recounting the day was making him angry. “You suffered a concussion, Shan and you were in a week long coma. When you came back home, it had been a few days and my dad had lost some money at the tracks…nothing new. And you were in the kitchen on a Friday night having some ice cream at the table. Your arm was still in a sling and you were enjoying your ice cream so much…you never heard him ask for a beer. So, when you didn’t respond, he roughed you up and threatened to break your other arm…” he took a long deep breath. “I wouldn’t have it. So I punched him.”
“What?” Shannon asked, her eyes wide.
“And I didn’t stop. I punched him again and again and kicked him when he was on the floor…he called his cop friends and I spent the night behind bars that night.”
Shannon’s lips were slightly parted as she looked at him.
“And the cops told me that I was an adult in the eyes of the law and that if I was ever seen in that house, they would make sure that I spent the rest of my life behind bars.” He forced out a laugh. “I had to leave but I promised that I would come back for you…and I did…but Lauren had moved and taken you with her and no one knew where you were.” He took her hand in his. There was a tear threatening to roll down her cheek.
“I didn’t know…I thought you…” her words were failing her as he gently squeezed her hand.
“I cannot tell you how happy I am to have you here with me,” he said in a soft voice. He touched the side of her face and she bit her lower lip. There was a long silence before he leaned in and without even knowing what was going on, she did the same and her lips brushed against his. She closed her eyes and kissed him softly as she gently pushed her tongue into his mouth. When he pulled away, she was breathing hard.
“I’m sorry,” he said in a soft voice. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
“No, it’s my fault…I guess I just have to…” she shifted her weight on the couch and then stood up. “Maybe I should just leave.”
“No, you don’t have to,” Nathan said, shaking his head. He reached out and held her hand in his.
“Nate please,” she said in a soft voice as she pulled her hand away from his. He stood up and looked into her eyes. “I have to go.”
He pulled her close to him and gently stroked her chin.
“No you don’t,” he whispered before he lowered his head and brushed her lips with his. The kiss was deeper than the first. His tongue was searching his and his hand was slowly travelling down her body to cup her well-rounded ass. She gasped into his mouth as he slowly backed her up against the window that overlooked the city. She bit her lower lip as he slowly raised her arms and pinned them above her head against the window. She closed her eyes and moaned softly as he kissed her chin and then her neck slowly working his way down to her generous cleavage. She let out a soft moan when he used his free hand to slowly unbutton her top. He pulled away briefly and looked at her breasts in her black satin bra. He wanted nothing more than to strip her naked, to marvel in the glory of her naked body. He kissed her lips again before he began kissing her shoulder.
“I want you so much, Shannon,” he said in a soft voice. “I want you right here, right now.”
He traced his lips back to her own and kissed her again before their moment of passion was interrupted by the chime of the opening elevator doors.
“Nate…what the hell?” they heard a loud female voice that Nathan knew a little too well. He pulled away from Shannon and turned around and sure enough, Keisha was standing in front of the elevator looking at them.
****
“How could I have been so stupid?” Shannon thought as she walked into her apartment. Of course Nathan had someone in his life. After all, he was Nathan Willoughby. He was not just any man. He was a wealthy good-looking man. She felt a tear roll down her cheek and she quickly brushed it off. She walked to the kitchen and opened it before she pulled out a bottle of water.
“Hey. What time did you come in?” she heard Mika’s voice behind her making her turn around startled.
“Damn it, Mika!” Shannon said as she dropped the bottle.
“Sorry, I let myself in,” Mika said as she began walking towards her friend. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“I’m sorry I snapped…I’m just not…” Shannon sighed. “I’m not having a very good morning.”
Mika smiled.
“Didn’t sleep much?” she asked.
“Actually, no but it is not because of what you think,” Shannon said. She bent down and picked up her water bottle before she looked up at Mika. “Did we have a breakfast date that I forgot about or something?” she asked and Mika shook her head.
“No, I was just worried about you since you were not answering any of my calls or texts.”
Shannon felt her pockets and then rummaged through her purse.
“Shit, I must have left my phone at Nate’s,” she mumbled under her breath. “I’m sorry…I don’t have my phone here.”
“I won’t even ask,” Mika said as Shannon walked towards her. “But I will ask if the reason you are so upset is about Nathan Willoughby.”
Shannon sighed and sat down on the couch.
“How do you even know about Nathan Willoughby?” she asked.
“The booth you didn’t want to serve…I asked around and found out that Nathan Willoughby was there plus you did leave with him. Don’t think I didn’t notice,” Mika said. “So I guess the big question here is why the hell you have never told me that you and Nathan Willoughby were…” her voice trailed off when Shannon shot her a dirty look.
“It’s not what you think, Mika and honestly, I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” Shannon said. She took a long sip of her water and then sighed. “I’m sorry, Mika. It’s just…”
“You are not having a very good morning,” Mika said, cutting her short. “You are my best friend Shan. And I don’t know when we began keeping secrets from each other.”
Shannon took another long sip of her water before she looked at Mika. She knew her friend was right. She had always been an open book to Mika and for her to keep anything from her, especially something this big, it just didn’t seem fair.
“You’re right. I’m sorry,” she started as Mika sat down next to her.
“Just stop apologizing and tell me what the hell is going on, Shan.”
Shannon put her water down and exhaled loudly.
“Remember when I told you about my stepbrother?” Mika nodded. “Well, Nathan Willoughby is…was my stepbrother.”
Shannon watched as Mika’s eyes grew wide.
“Shut the fuck up,” she said excitedly and Shannon shrugged. “Seriously?”
“Yeah and I hadn’t seen him for ages. Seeing him last night…I was not ready for it.”
“So, you are related to Nathan Willoughby,” Mika said in a soft voice. “But why did you leave with him? You told me that you would never forgive him for leaving you in that house with his father.”
“Well, he didn’t leave of his own free will. It was more of being forced out,” Shannon said. “It’s a long story.”
“Clearly. I mean you did detest him for the longest time and now after a few hours you are lit
erally dancing around with his name in your mouth,” Mika said and Shannon smiled.
“Poetic much?”
Mika shrugged.
“So, what else happened?” she asked.
Shannon felt her cheeks flush.
“What makes you think something else happened?” she asked.
“For starters, the fact that you are blushing right now,” Mika pointed out and Shannon turned away. “What? Did he hold you against that big muscular body? Did he kiss you maybe?”
Shannon shrugged and tucked a stray curl behind her ear.
“Oh my God…you always do that when you blush,” Mika said excitedly. “You did kiss him, didn’t you?” she asked and Shannon stood up.
“I need to lie down.”
“But things just got more interesting,” Mika complained. “You can’t leave me hanging like this.”
“We can gossip at work like all the other people,” Shannon said as she walked to her bedroom.
“Not fair!” she heard Mika call out as she closed the door. She leaned against the closed door and closed her eyes.
“Skinny fashionable Caucasian women. That is his type, not plus size black women,” she thought as a lone tear rolled down her cheek.
Chapter 4
Nathan was having a hard time keeping his cool as he got dressed. Keisha had been speaking…no, yapping nonstop since Shannon left. It was the last thing he needed especially after a beautiful night of friendly and stimulating conversation with Shannon. He would have wanted to stay home that day if Shannon had been there with him but now that Keisha was there, all he wanted was to leave. He didn’t even care that she was in one of those tight bandage dresses that showed off everything she had.
“Are you going to just ignore the fact that I am talking to you, Nate?” Keisha asked as he fastened his tie.
“No, I just simply do not feel like talking to you right now, Keisha.” He turned around and looked at her. “That is all.”
“What the hell is that even supposed to mean?” she asked angrily.
“It means that the agreement between us was purely physical and nothing more.” He put on his jacket. “You have no right to come into my house and make a scene.”
“I was not coming to make a scene, Nate. I was coming to surprise you,” she said, flipping her luxurious honey blonde hair over her shoulder. “Clearly I was the one who got surprised.”
“I don’t want to be late, Keisha,” he said.
She walked up to where he was and put her hands on his chest.
“Babe, I was only gone for three weeks,” she said. “I really want us to…” Nathan held her hand and pulled it away.
“I cannot get into this right now, Keisha.” He started walking towards the elevator but she walked fast and got into the elevator. She looked into his eyes and then touched the side of his face.
“Don’t leave me like this,” she said in a soft voice.
“I have to go, Keisha. Please,” he said again. “So you are either coming with me or staying but if it is the latter, I would rather if I didn’t find you here when I get back.”
“Nate…no….” she started as he pulled her out of the elevator and then stepped in. ‘So you are going to leave all this for that…blob!” she suddenly exclaimed and he raised an eyebrow at her.
“Don’t you dare call her that!”
“Well she is a fat nobody and I am a runaway model so forgive me if I do not see how you would want to replace me with her.” There was contempt in her voice. “The least you could have done is upgrade.”
That was it. He’d heard enough. He stepped out of the elevator and looked into her eyes. His heart was racing and it took everything in him not to strike her.
“Keisha, you and I had fun and that was it. You were a mere placeholder so don’t get anything twisted.” He looked at her for a long minute before he spoke again. “Last summer in Milan, you asked me what I had in mind for us and I told you that I was not looking to make any serious decisions about us. Do you remember that?”
“Yes but I thought you were just…I thought you needed more time to make up your mind.”
“I didn’t,” Nathan said sharply.
“Then why did you string me along?” she asked and he shook his head.
“I never strung you along. My heart…my love has always been for Shannon.”
“Are you fucking serious right now?” Keisha asked, her voice louder than before. “What the hell does she have that I don’t?”
“For starters, Keisha, she has a heart and when she declares her undying love for me it is because she really means it and not because she wants a percentage of Willoughby Inc.”
Keisha raised an eyebrow and shook her head.
“I…I don’t know…I don’t know what you are talking about,” she stammered.
“Don’t insult me, Keisha. Please,” he said in a soft voice. “You will never be half the woman Shannon is.”
Keisha rolled her eyes.
“I couldn’t if I tried. That woman is about as big as the Great Wall of China,” she said under her breath but loud enough for Nathan to hear her.
“See, right there. That shallow thinking is the reason why you and I could never work out,” he said as he stood up. “Get out of my house Keisha, and out of my life.”
****
As Shannon pulled on her black pants, she was still replaying the last moment at Nathan’s penthouse. She would have wanted to talk to him again before she went in for her shift but she did not know what she would have said to him given the chance and her phone was still at his place anyway so there was no chance of talking to him. It was still a little early for her to get ready for work but she needed to be busy and getting ready for work was the only thing she could think of to take her mind of things, besides, she still had to pass by the shop to pick up her car.
“Maybe I can take a long ride around town before I go in today,” she thought as she held her curls back and secured them with a few bobby pins. She had just put on her earrings when she heard a knock on her door. “If that is Mika coming to squeeze more details out of me I will kill her,” she thought as she walked to the door.
“Mika if you are back here for…” she started before her voice trailed off when she opened the door. Standing right there on her doorstep was Nathan, which was confusing because they never really mentioned her place. “Nate,” she said as she looked at him. “What are you…how did you know where I live?” she asked.
“I have my ways,” he said with a smile. “Besides, you are kind of an open book when it comes to your address.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” she asked, still surprised that he was there.
“You have all your personal details on Facebook” he said matter-of-factly. “At the risk of sounding like a complete know it all, but that is a little transparent.”
Shannon stepped aside and gestured him in.
“I was just about t head out but I can get you some coffee...but I have to warn you that it is not as fancy as the one at your place,” she said as she made her way into her apartment.
“I didn’t come here for coffee Shan,” Nathan said as she began filling the filter with ground coffee beans. She looked up at him and shrugged.
“Then why did you come here?” she asked.
He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out her phone. She smiled and took the phone from him.
“Thanks,” she said, looking at her screen.
“I didn’t know anyone could stay this long without their phone,” Nathan said as he looked at her. She shrugged.
“I didn’t want to risk bumping into your girlfriend again,” she said, a cynical tone in her voice. “She didn’t seem to like me that much.”
“She is not my girlfriend, Shan.”
“To be honest, I wouldn’t like myself after the compromising situation she found us in,” she went on knowing full well that he didn’t like the topic.
“Shannon! She is not my girlfriend,” h
e said again.
“You know that is exactly what a lying cheat would say,” she said as she looked at him. “Because you had an entire night to tell me that you had someone in your life and you didn’t.”
“Will just give me a second…” he started before she went on talking.
“And I know I may not be the kind of woman you are used to but I am sure not going to settle for…whatever the hell you had in mind, Nate. I might not be a skinny woman with long golden hair that I probably had to pay for but I’m sure as hell not someone to settle for.”
Nathan rubbed his temple and exhaled loudly before he made his way to where Shannon was. He looked into her brown eyes and brushed off the tear that was rolling down one cheek.
“I’ve been here before Nate and…I really don’t want to go back,” she said in a whisper.
“I don’t want to make you go back there. I would never hurt you like that,” Nathan said as he held her face in his hands.
“But the woman…” she started and he shook his head.
“Trust me, she is not my girlfriend,” he said.
“But she had access to your penthouse.”
“I know. A mistake that I have taken care of.” He stroked her cheek with his thumb. “You mean the world to me Shannon, you know that?” he asked in a whisper but she didn’t answer, mostly because she didn’t know what to say. She shook her head and her gaze dropped to the ground.
“Nate…this is not a good idea,” she whispered as he lowered his head and brushed her lips with his. She closed her eyes when he kissed her again and his hand slowly went down the side of her body slightly brushing against her breast making her shiver. When he pulled away she was almost breathless. “Nate…” she started.
“If you want me to stop, all you have to do is just ask and I will,” Nathan said softly before he lowered his head to kiss her again. She wanted to tell him to stop. She wanted to pull away but for some reason, she just couldn’t. Her hand slowly went up and held the back of his neck as he kissed her slowly, softly. She could not help but notice how soft his kisses were. It was like all her life the thing she had been doing in the name of a kiss was all wrong. It was always so rushed, so rough. Every single man she had ever kissed was always forcing his tongue into her mouth way too early and sometimes a little too deep for comfort. His other hand slid down the side of her body and held her waist before he pulled her towards him. She exhaled in his mouth as he took her upper lip and then her lower lip. He suddenly surprised her when he took her into his arms and placed her on the counter standing in between her legs. He pulled away briefly and held her neck as he looked into her eyes. He might have been breathing heavily but his breathing was controlled, a little too controlled compared to her panting.
