Satin Nights

by Karen E. Quinones Miller

  Charles looked at her as if he was waiting for her to say something, but when she didn’t, he averted his eyes. “Look, I’m sorry to babble on like that. I’m just unhinged, I guess.” He leaned over and picked up the telephone from the nightstand. “Guess I’ll order that room service.”

  Regina stood up. “Listen, do you mind if I use your toothbrush? In fact, would you mind if I took a quick shower?”

  “I wouldn’t mind at all.”

  He loves me, always has, and always will, Regina mused as she stood in the bathtub and let the water beat down on her chest while she lathered her stomach. Yes, she had always known it, but it felt so good to hear it. Especially from a man she loved, always had, and probably always would. But then, hadn’t she felt the same way about Little Joe? And no matter what he had done, she had no doubt that he loved her. In fact, she was sure that he’d done what he’d done because he did love her. How touching and sickening at the same time. It was a true love, but a dangerous one. Not like what she and Charles shared. I wonder if I should get back with Charles, she thought. I wonder if I could.

  Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. “Yes?” she yelled over the shower.

  Charles opened the door a crack. “I just wanted to know if you wanted me to send your clothes down to the laundry service. They have that one-hour expedited service. And you can wear one of the hotel robes until they get back.”

  “That sounds good,” Regina said, sticking her head out from behind the shower curtain. “But listen, how about since you’re in here, anyway, why don’t you get in the shower with me so you can wash my back?”

  Charles paused and looked at her long and hard before answering. “No,” he said slowly. “No, I think I should probably pass right now.”

  Regina blinked a couple of times, then jumped out of the tub and grabbed a towel, which she quickly wrapped around herself. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t suggesting it for the reason you might have assumed,” she said, avoiding his eyes. “I just—”

  “Hey, shush now, I wasn’t assuming anything,” Charles said gently. “Now, hurry and get dried off. Our food and drinks should be here any minute.”

  “That’s okay. I’m just going to get dressed and leave.” She tried to nudge him out of the bathroom so she could close the door. Charles, however, refused to budge.

  “Why do you have to leave all of a sudden?” he demanded as he crossed his arms over his chest.

  “I just do.”

  “No, you don’t.” Charles walked past her and picked up her dress and threw it over his arm. “If you do, you’re leaving in your underwear or in a robe,” he said as he walked out of the bathroom.

  “Oh, try me,” Regina spat out. She tried to slam the door after him, but he whirled around in time to block it with his elbow.

  “Regina, listen to me,” he said urgently. “This isn’t making any sense. You know what? You want to leave, go ahead. I won’t try and stop you. Here,” he said, pushing the dress into her hands. “I shouldn’t have tried in the first place. But I think we should try and figure out why it is that we start out so well and end up yelling and pissed off. I’m getting tired of it, and I sure as hell am not up to it right now.”

  He walked out of the bathroom, gently closing the door behind him.

  Damn, Regina thought. What the hell is wrong with me? Here’s this man who’s always been there for me, and I get pissed and I’m ready to walk out on him when he needs me. And why am I pissed? Because I feel like he rejected me? Hell, I must have rejected him at least three times in the last couple of weeks, and he’s never caught an attitude.

  She started drying herself so furiously her skin was turning red. And what made me all of a sudden put the moves on him, anyway? Because I feel sorry for him and what he’s going through right now? Because I feel guilty about what happened to Robert? Because I’m mad at Little Joe?

  She peered at herself in the steamed-up bathroom mirror. Because I’ve made a choice?

  She threw on the white plush terry-cloth robe provided by the hotel and meekly walked back into the suite.

  Charles was lying on the bed, fully clothed, his arms crossed under his head while he stared up at the ceiling. The room service cart was next to the bed, untouched. She sat down beside him. “I’m sorry,” she said simply. When he didn’t say anything, she added, “Very sorry. And I would like to stay if you don’t mind.”

  Charles reached up and stroked her neck for a few seconds, then gently pulled her down on the bed next to him. He kissed her softly on the lips, on her eyelids, and around her face as he undid her robe.

  “Charles?” she said tentatively as his kisses moved lower down her neck, her breasts and stomach, and beyond.

  “Charles?” she said again as he used his tongue to part the lips of her vagina, then flitted it around her clitoris. “Oh God, Charles,” she moaned. Her breath was coming in gasps, and she couldn’t keep her eyes open as a warm sensation surged through her body. It had been too long since she’d had someone make her feel like this, like she was simply floating on air. Little Joe loved getting oral sex, but he would never even consider giving it in return. Charles, on the other hand, was an expert in that area—as he was in the process of proving.

  She could feel herself on the brink of climax, and she tried to pull Charles up, but he ignored her and kept on licking, sucking, and nibbling and driving her crazy. Her body tensed, and she clenched and unclenched her fists and rolled her head from side to side, trying—why, she did not know—to stop herself from exploding. But it was no use.

  “Oh God. Oh God. Oh, Charles. Oh, Charles,” she said in gasps. “Oh no, baby. Oh, please stop. Oh, don’t stop. Oh God!” she screamed, finally letting go. “Oh, baby, I’m coming. I love you!”

  Her body went limp on the bed, and her eyes closed as she tried to catch her breath. She reopened them when she felt Charles lowering his now naked body over hers. She reached up and pulled him into a deep kiss as she rubbed his smooth chest and he rubbed her still-erect nipple. She reached down and grabbed his thick eight-inch penis and started stroking it up and down as she nibbled his ear.

  “Oh God, you feel so damn good, Gina,” Charles moaned. “God, I’d almost forgotten how good you feel. How good you taste.”

  “And I’d forgotten how good you make me feel, Charles,” Regina whispered in his ear. “Nobody can make me feel as good as you.”

  “Oh, baby, I hope you mean that.”

  “Oh God, I do.” She guided the head of his penis to the portal of her vagina. “And I want you. I want you right now.”

  “Are you sure?” Charles said as he looked directly into her eyes.

  “Yes. Oh yes,” Regina said, lifting her hips, trying to force him in. But Charles raised himself ever so slightly out of her reach.

  “Are you ready for me right now?” he asked as he lowered himself again so that he was once more at the tip of her entrance.

  “Oh God, Charles,” Regina moaned. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”

  “Neither have I,” Charles said as he kissed her on the lips, then slowly—so very slowly—pushed inside her.

  “Oh damn!” Regina felt herself on the edge of climax almost the moment his head penetrated her. “Oh my God.” Charles was deliberate, and so attentive—touching and rubbing all over her body as he stroked in and out of her—that she found herself sobbing with enjoyment. She suddenly wrapped her legs around him as she felt herself ready to climax, and she thrust up as hard as she could.

  “Oh fuck, Gina, stop. You’re going to make me cum,” Charles moaned. “I don’t wanna cum yet, baby.”

  “Why not? You’re making me cum,” Regina said through her gasps. “You’re making me cum right now. Oh God. Right now!”

  “Oh damn!” Charles’s eyes seemed to roll into the back of his head as he collapsed on top of her.

  “Oh God, Gina, I love you so much,” he said when he finally recovered a few minutes later.

 
“Same here, Charles,” Regina said, and cuddled closer to him.

  He propped himself up on one elbow and stroked her hair, which was still damp from the shower. “So no regrets, then?”

  Regina looked at him quizzically. “No. Why?”

  “Honestly?” Charles traced his finger along her face. “As much as I wanted you, I was afraid that I might have been taking advantage of you. You’re probably in a pretty vulnerable state right now with everything that’s been going on . . . especially with what just happened to Renee.”

  “You don’t have to worry about that,” Regina said lightly, then began to nibble at his throat. “I’m a big girl, and I know what I’m doing.”

  “Yeah, you certainly seem to.” Charles grinned. “And I sure love the way you do the things you do.” He groaned as she started massaging his limp penis back into action. “I really do.”

  chapter twenty-one

  Uncle Charles, I don’t want you to see me like this!” Renee used her one good arm to pull the hospital bedsheet over her head to hide her still bruised and swollen face. “Why didn’t you tell me he was with you, Aunt Gina? You didn’t even tell me he was back in town.”

  “He drove in this morning to bring Camille home, Ray-Ray. And please, believe me, he’s seen you looking a lot worse,” Regina said as she yanked the sheet off her niece’s head and bent down to give her a kiss. “How are you feeling, sweetie?”

  “I’m feeling fine,” Renee answered glumly, turning her head away from Charles.

  “Stop acting silly, silly,” Charles said with a grin. “You’re still the most beautiful girl I know besides your aunt.”

  “Ain’t this some shit? Here you are a lesbian and you still got a crush on Charles.” Puddin’ snorted. “Girl, you’d better bone up on your butching skills.”

  “Huh?” Charles looked at Puddin’, then Regina. “What’s she talking about?”

  “Oh shit, you didn’t know?” Puddin’ asked him. She started laughing when she saw the angry look on Renee’s face. “Aw naw, naw, naw. Hell, don’t be getting mad at me. You came out the closet to everyone else, I thought you told him.”

  “My daughter’s a lesbian is what she’s talking about,” Brenda said from where she sat in the corner of the room. “And we’re all very proud of her.”

  “Really?” Charles fixed his stare on Regina. “An actual lesbian and not just a tomboy?”

  “An actual lesbian,” Regina said, trying to hide her smile as she walked over and gave her sister a big hug.

  “I see,” Charles said, rubbing his chin. “I mean, I guess I see.”

  “It’s not a big deal, Uncle Charles,” Renee said in a defensive voice. “It’s not like I’m any different, you know. I’m still Renee.”

  “Come on, you know I know that,” Charles said, and grabbed her good hand and gave a squeeze. “Just like you know you’ll always be my girl. You just caught me by surprise is all.”

  “I was going to tell you the night we had the pizza party at my house last week, but I didn’t get a chance,” Regina said, busying herself with rearranging flowers in the vase on the nightstand.

  “Uh-huh, I see.” Charles turned his attention back to Renee. “So do you, like, have a girlfriend or anything?”

  “Yeah. You remember Liz, right? I introduced the two of you, as a matter of fact,” Renee answered. “She was at the pizza party.”

  Charles looked around the room. “And everyone knew but me?”

  Brenda grinned. “Even your daughter, Camille, knows.”

  Regina looked at Brenda and mentally shook her head. Her sister had done a total 180-degree turn. She’d been not only courteous but almost downright maternal to Liz since Renee’s hospitalization; and now she was actually joking about Renee’s homosexuality. It seemed it took almost losing her daughter to make her fully accept her.

  “Aunt Gina? How come you guys didn’t bring Camille?” Renee asked, interrupting her thoughts. “I miss her.”

  “She misses you, too, sweetie, but hospital rules won’t let young children make hospital visits. I’ll have her give you a call, okay?” Regina smiled. “By the way, anyone seen Tamika? We stopped over her house to see if she wanted to come to the hospital with us, but she wasn’t home.”

  “She called me a little while ago,” Puddin’ said. “She’s been spending a lot of time with Yvonne, trying to make sure she’s okay. Miss Thang keeps saying she’s fine, but I think she’s on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Mika thinks so, too. I’m going over there when I leave here.”

  “Maybe I should go, too.” Regina took a deep breath. In the week since Robert’s death Yvonne tried to act as if his passing didn’t bother her, as if admitting that it did would be an act of betrayal against her friends. Both Tamika and Regina had tried to assure her that it was understandable that she would feel some grief, since she had once loved the man, but Yvonne kept brushing them off, saying that was nonsense. Regina winced when she thought what Yvonne would do if she found out that Little Joe was responsible for Robert’s murder, or that it was Regina’s words that instigated it.

  For that matter, she wondered what Charles would do if he found out. She still hadn’t told anyone, and she wrestled about whether or not she should confront Little Joe on it. They hadn’t talked since that night in the restaurant, but he’d been leaving messages on her home and cell phones. She knew she’d have to get back to him sooner or later, or he would likely pop up at the most inopportune time.

  “Well, you can’t leave right now, Aunt Gina,” Renee protested. “You and Uncle Charles just got here!”

  “Actually, I was really just dropping your Aunt Gina off because her car’s in the shop, but I wanted to at least stop by and give you a quick hello.” Charles stood up and kissed Renee on the cheek. “I’ve got a meeting in Brooklyn in about an hour, and I want to beat the traffic.” He turned around and almost bumped into a nurse who had suddenly appeared at Renee’s bedside.

  “And you, my dear, have a meeting yourself,” the nurse told Renee. “We’ve got to get you downstairs for an MRI.”

  Brenda stood up. “Why does she need an MRI? No one told me about an MRI.”

  “It’s just routine, ma’am,” the nurse said as she prepared to wheel Renee’s bed out of the room. “She’s going to be leaving us in a couple of days, and we just want to make sure everything that’s supposed to be healing is healing. But not to worry, I’ll have her back up here in about a half hour.”

  Charles walked over to Regina and put his arm around her waist. “Well, then, I’m out of here, okay? You want me to call you later? Maybe have dinner?”

  Regina hesitated. Camille had already begged to stay over at Tamika’s house to play with Darren and Sissy, and it was the perfect opportunity to go ahead and meet up with Little Joe and get the confrontation over and done with. “How about we take a rain check? I’m going with Puddin’ to meet up with Tamika and Yvonne, you know?”

  “Yeah, yeah, I know how you guys are.” Charles kissed her on the cheek. “I’ve been in love with you long enough to know how the Four Musketeers hang.”

  Regina turned to Brenda after Charles left. “You want to hang out with us, sis?”

  Brenda shook her head and put two chairs together to make a bed. “I’m going to catch a quick nap. I want to be here when Renee gets back to make sure the tests all come out okay.”

  “They probably won’t have the results right away,” Regina said. “You sure you don’t want to come?”

  “No, you go ahead,” Brenda said with a wave of her hand. “I’ll see you at the house tonight, okay?”

  “Okay, then.” Regina gave her sister a kiss on the cheek. “Love ya.”

  “Love ya back.”

  “So are you and Mr. Congressman getting back together?” Puddin’ asked as she and Regina walked the ten blocks from Harlem Hospital to Mama Tee’s house, where Yvonne was still staying. “You’ve been looking mighty lovey-dovey lately.”

  Regina shrugged, then
shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. I’m not moving back to Philadelphia, and he can’t move back to New York, so it wouldn’t work.”

  “What if he wasn’t in politics and didn’t have to live in Philly? What about then?”

  “They’d be together in a New York minute,” Tamika said as she came up behind them.

  “Hey, where’d you come from?” Regina said after the three women hugged. “Puddin’ said you were at Mama Tee’s with Yvonne.”

  “I was, but I couldn’t do anything with her, so I gave up and was waiting for the bus when I saw you from across the street. You guys just leaving the hospital?”

  Regina nodded. “I might go back later before visiting hours are over tonight. I’m not sure. So where are you heading, then?”

  Tamika shrugged.

  “Well, then, let’s go back to your house,” Puddin’ decided for them. “And let’s jump on the subway. I musta been fucking crazy to let Regina talk me into walking as far as I have already. My feet are fucking killing me.”

  Once they reached the 145th Street subway station and stepped onto the platform, Tamika turned to Regina and Puddin’. “Ya’ll were talking about you and Charles getting back together?”

  “Yeah, Regina said she can’t because she doesn’t want to move back to Philly,” Puddin’ said as she walked over and took a seat on the wooden bench.

  “That’s not what I said,” Regina said after she and Tamika sat down next to her.

  “Pretty much what you said.” Puddin’ slipped her shoes off and used one foot to massage the other.

  “I already told her I’d like to see them get back together.” Tamika nudged Puddin’ with her elbow. “I wouldn’t want to see Regina move back to Philly, though.” She turned to Regina. “But what’s up with you and Little Joe? You still not talking to him?”